


'Tangled: The Series' Drabbles

by CodyNaomiSwire



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14367120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodyNaomiSwire/pseuds/CodyNaomiSwire
Summary: Some little drabbles for 'Tangled: The Series'.  Mostly about Varian.





	1. Varian & Rapunzel Dialogue

**Just had an idea for a bit of a speculative blip after seeing the promo for "The Alchemist Returns". The situation didn’t end up panning out this way, but was fun to jot down in any case. (Note: Nothing shippy here. Just some Varian and Rapunzel dialogue.) Hope you enjoy this little drabble!**

* * *

 

“VARIAN!”

Varian’s muscles tensed as the princess threw her arms around him, the surprising comfort of her embrace nearly making him forget his bitterness towards her for the briefest of seconds as she squeezed him close to her, one of her hands rubbing and patting his back with tender, almost motherly reassurance. It hadn’t struck him until then just how bereft of friendly contact he had been up until that point. Under any other circumstances, it would’ve made the boy hug her tightly in return, relishing the moment of a good friend being so relieved to see him alive and well, and reassuring him that everything was going to be ok.

  
_“Everything’s going to be ok. **I promise.”**_

  
But as it was…

  
Varian remained stock still, arms hanging straight down by his sides, fists clenched, and eyes downcast in a confusing mixture of indifference and sadness while Rapunzel’s words poured out like water at his shoulder, her voice threatening to break as she went on.

  
“Varian, I…I’m so, _so_ sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! Really! To Old Corona! To you…To Quirin…”

  
Rapunzel’s voice trailed off, Varian frowned hard, eyes still downcast, as Pascal gave a melancholy croak from his perch atop Rapunzel’s head.

  
“Varian, really I…I am so sor-”

  
“ _Stop_ ,” Varian whispered tersely, feeling Rapunzel pause in response. “Just…stop.”

  
Rapunzel nodded, pulling away and rubbing at her eyes on the verge of tears, but doing her best to compose herself as she waited for Varian to speak. Again, Varian nearly forgot his bitterness as for the first time since _that_ terrible day as he looked her in the eyes. There he did see how truly remorseful Rapunzel was…but any compassion for that seemed to be really struggling to break through the crust he had been forming carefully around his heart ever since the guards had dragged him from the castle; his emotions turning as cold as the ice he had been so callously cast out into.

  
…It could not have been easy, he knew, for Rapunzel to make the decision that she did those several months ago. He’d had enough time to think of that by now (and to have heard the stories of the Demanitus Device). But if he were honest, that didn’t really change the way he felt. It didn’t change the fact that his father was still encapsulated in an amber chrysalis back in the lab, that Varian was left with the horrible wondering of whether he was still alive or long dead, and that Varian had to dodge his way around the king and his guards (both figuratively and literally) in order to get any sort of progress done on solving this horrible mystery. It didn’t change the fact that the rocks continued to wreak havoc across the kingdom, and that they all could be left with a situation that could never be rectified.

  
…It didn’t change the fact that he had his own stinging regrets to deal with…

  
_[“I told you to stay away from those rocks!”_

  
_“VARIAN WATCH OUT!”_

  
_“NO! STAY BACK!”_

  
_“DAD! DADDY! NO NO NO NO NO!”]_

  
Varian flinched slightly, coming back to himself as he cleared his throat, willing the tears that threatened to break through back behind the dam that was his resolve.

  
“Rapunzel,” Varian began, his voice sounding hollow. “You remember that in my note I said I needed your help now more than ever, right?”

  
“…Y-yes,” Rapunzel replied.

  
“Well it’s true,” Varian said, his gaze fixed hard back into the princess’s. “I think I know where we can find the solution to getting rid of these rocks. But it’s somewhere deep in the old caverns of the kingdom.” Varian paused, forcing his next few words to come out. “And I need you to come with me.”

  
Rapunzel bit her lower lip, eyes turning away as Pascal made a concerned chirping noise, and her gaze fixed on the portrait of her father hovering on the wall above the two of them. Varian’s heart began to beat hard as he waited for her answer.

  
“Varian, I…” Rapunzel said meekly, her countenance telling him everything he needed to know.

  
“He’s forbidden you, hasn’t he?” Varian asked sternly, his fists clenching tighter at his sides, anger boiling in his blood at how unfair it all was!

“Well he-”

  
“PRINCESS!” Varian nearly shouted, Rapunzel jumping in fright at his harsh tone, and Pascal diving to hide behind her hair. “ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO GO BACK ON YOUR PROMISE AGAI-!”

  
Varian stopped, cringing hard, remembering what he had read in his father’s note…

  
No. If he was going to have Rapunzel’s help, this was NOT the way to go about it, however he might feel.

  
“Listen, Rapunzel,” Varian tried again, though the edge was still not gone from his voice. “I know you don’t want to go against your dad. I get it. But the kingdom is in danger. This isn’t just about us anymore. Believe me, if I could do this on my own I would. Because…”

  
Varian took a deep breath. “…We’re not friends.”

  
Rapunzel swallowed hard, shrinking a bit at Varian’s words, but remained silent as he continued.

  
“Not now anyway. Not after what you did…What you _didn’t_ do…I can’t forgive you for that. Not right now anyway…” Varian felt his own voice waver a bit as he said these words, the bit of fondness he still felt for his friend seeming to cry out to him from somewhere deep under the crust that ached with the force of its protestations. Yet his bitterness held on, feeling both sticky-sweet and utterly deplorable to him as he knew how much his words stung Rapunzel.

  
“But,” Varian managed to continue, “like I said, this isn’t just about us anymore. Something bigger than us is going on here, and we’re the only ones who can do anything about it. If…if my dad is going to have any chance – if Corona is going to have any chance – I’m going to have to hold you to your word. Again.”

  
Varian held out one of his hands. “Princess Rapunzel, will you help me put an end to this?”

  
Rapunzel looked between Varian’s hand and his face, and then back to her father’s portrait.

  
“Varian, I-”

  
“Rapunzel!” Varian snapped again, his patience wearing thin, but something about Rapunzel’s conflicted face caused his voice to soften, even just a little bit. “Corona…needs…our help.”

  
A moment of silence passed, Rapunzel going over Varian’s words in her mind. Finally, with a deep breath, brow furrowing in determination, Rapunzel took Varian’s hand in her own, the two of them exchanging a firm shake between them.

  
“Where do we start?” Rapunzel asked, Varian offering a court nod in return, his expression working hard to hide the immense relief that washed over him unbidden in that moment (along with a glimmer of hope that perhaps…things could go back to the way they were, before this whole mess).

  
_[“You can count on me.”]_

  
“Follow me,” he said as the two of them turned down the castle corridor. “We’re going to need to get some supplies first.”


	2. Moon!Varian 'Trollhunters' Inspired Fic

**A quick, fun little drabble inspired by the moon!Varian AU and the shattered amulet scene from "Trollhunters" (like the fans of either series haven’t suffered enough already!). That scene immediately made me think of Varian and his predicament, and I just had to write down my brainstorm for it. I know the piece feels a bit rushed at the end, but I wasn’t quite sure how to round things off. Hope it’s fun to read anyway!**

**Moon!Varian AU was created by @ghosta-r on Tumblr.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 

“No…”

  
Varian gasped, eyes wide in horror as he saw the flames rise over the horizon. Even from Old Corona, Varian could see the tongues of fire begin to plague the capital and the surrounding landscape.

  
_“I didn’t want this…”_ was all that Varian could think to himself as he dashed back into his home, dodging the black rocks that jutted out from every corner as he scrambled back into his lab, his brain reeling at what had just been unleashed. _“I never wanted this!”_

  
“C’mon, c’mon!” Varian hissed to himself, sifting through the papers and piles of dust that had collected around his drafting table. “There’s- there’s got to be some of it left! I couldn’t have destroyed it all! _Stupid!_ How could I have-?”

  
Varian stopped, voice catching in his throat as he caught sight of something thin, a little papery, and nearly transparent, scuttling its way across the stone floor in front of his father’s amber chrysalis, carried along by the draft caused by Varian’s frantic searching.

  
“No,” Varian repeated from before, grabbing desperately at the one petal that remained of the sundrop flower, all tattered and worn; decaying into dust. “No no no no NO!” Varian screamed, crashing down onto his knees and scooping up the delicate petal in his hands, which quivered terribly as he cupped the petal in his palms. In a final act of desperation, Varian held the petal in one hand, and pressed the other up against the amber crystals, and recalling the words he had heard Rapunzel sing before (and had translated from the scroll) he began to sing, his voice rising and falling as emotion threatened to break him:

  
“Flower gleam and glow  
Let your power shine  
Make the clock reverse  
Bring back what once was mine-!”

  
“C’mon! Please work, PLEASE!” Varian cried aloud, the petal disintegrating further, and the giant crystal beside him showing no signs of change.

  
“Heal what has been hurt  
Change the fate’s design  
Save what has been lost  
Bring back what once was mine!”

  
“WHAT ONCE WAS MINE!” Varian shouted at the end, his dismay echoing off the walls of his lab as his voice faded away, an explosion of fire rumbling in the distance, and the amber and black rocks around him remaining still. Unchanged.

  
“Please…” Varian whispered, watching through blurred vision as the remains of the petal withered away completely. “Ple-e-ease!” Varian wept through hiccupping sobs, finding himself praying for the first time in his life as his palms folded together in front of him, pressing them against his forehead as the dust of the flower escaped through the gaps between his fingers, Varian feeling all that he had worked for do the same as hopelessness began to take hold of his heart.

  
“PLEASE! RAPUNZEL! ANYONE!” Varian yelled, the tears now streaming down his freckled face. “I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE!”

  
_Alone…_

  
Varian let the dust of the last petal fall from his hands, his dark gloves glittering with their powder as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, his form doubling over as he let his grief pour out like water. He felt cold. He felt sick. He felt helpless.

  
_“This can’t be happening!”_ he thought to himself as his shoulders shook with sobs. _“How did it come to this? This wasn’t supposed to happen! It didn’t_ have _to be this way! I’m just an alchemist! I’m just an alchemist! I’m an alchemist!”_

  
“I’M AN ALCHEMIST!” Varian cried towards the sky. He was not a wizard. He was not a warrior. He was not a hero. He couldn’t do _anything_!

  
_…Or could he?_

  
After taking several deep breathes, Varian wiped away the remaining tears from his eyes. Wet and pink-rimmed, Varian turned them towards the still form of his father. Varian blinked a few times, remembering how hard he had worked before to make his father proud of him. What would he think of him now?

  
_“There is still time,”_ something seemed to tell him in the back of his mind, as an idea grew in Varian’s mind, and he remembered the determination of his friends…of Rapunzel…of all those who were out there fighting right now. With a heavy sigh, Varian picked himself up off the floor of the lab, his legs shaky but holding him up as his mind made itself up. He couldn’t change the past. That side of the equation had been set. But perhaps it was time to bring another variable into it; change the outcome.

  
“I am an alchemist,” Varian repeated to himself, setting his will to remember just what that meant to him; _why_ he had become an alchemist in the first place all those years ago. How he had wanted so badly to help others. Was he going to pass that up now? “I _am_ an alchemist, I know I’m an alchemist.”

  
With a heavy heart, Varian turned and picked up his staff, and slinging his bag of flasks and vials over his shoulder, he slowly made his way towards the old castle door. “I _am_ an alchemist. Successful, or not.”

  
As he opened the door, he felt Rudiger brush up against his ankles, making frightened chittering noises as Varian looked down at him.  
“I know Rudiger,” Varian said, his voice shaky as he picked up the raccoon, nuzzling his forehead into his companion’s with a sad smile. They both knew that very likely only death awaited Varian the moment he walked out that door. “But I have to do _something_. I can’t just sit by and let this Zhan Tiri destroy everything like this. They may need me out there. I _have_ to make this right.”

  
With one last affectionate squeeze, Varian gently set Rudiger down on the stonework beside the front stairs, and set his sights towards the burning capital. Taking another deep breath, Varian took his first few steps over the threshold of his home, likely never to return as he entered into the silvery moonlight. Then suddenly-

  
“Ah! Now you’re getting it!”

  
Varian stood stock still as a glowing blue light flared up from behind him, and an echoey, masculine voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Slowly turning round, Varian blinked and shielded his eyes as he beheld before him what appeared to be a small blue flame, hovering in midair.  
Varian knew that he should’ve been afraid…but he wasn’t. Something about the voice (which he now understood to have come from the mysterious flame) had been comforting to him, almost familiar. Though despite this inexplicable finding of courage, Varian still found himself very confused by the phenomenon he was witnessing.

  
“Who-who are you?” Varian asked. But before the mysterious speaker could reply to his inquiry, Varian remembered the legends. “Wait…Demanitus??”

  
The voice from the flame chuckled at Varian’s goggle-eyes expression, and sounded amused as it continued. “You know, ‘tis customary to kneel before another wizard.”

  
Taking that as his cue, Varian knelt down before the shade of Demanitus, gripping his staff vertically before him in both hands, and felt Rudiger scuttle over to his side, leaping up onto his shoulders, his form curling round Varian as if a show of both solidarity and defense in this moment. Varian was grateful. At least he knew now that he hadn’t gone mad or wasn’t just seeing things as he felt Rudiger tremble in fear as he too faced the blue, floating flame, his paws clutching hard at Varian’s cloak. He really was a brave and loyal little creature!

  
“…I…I don’t…” Varian began, but then stopped as his eyes snapped up to look at the shade of Demanitus, his mind rewinding to what he heard just a moment before. “Wait… _another_ wizard!?”

  
“Why yes indeed,” Demanitus said, a hint of laughter present in his voice. “You are not only a gifted alchemist, Varian son of Quirin. Out of all of the denizens of Corona, it was also you who was gifted for particular tasks to come. _Magical_ tasks, if I dare say.”

  
Varian’s eyes went wide, his eyes focusing on the ground before him as he said under his breath, “…You did this…”

  
“I know you have many questions, small one,” Demanitus interrupted gently, “but the hour is late, and the need is great. Zhan Tiri is free, Corona is in peril, and my remaining disciples are going to need my heir by their side if this evil to be stopped once again.”

  
“Your heir!?” Varian asked, his mind racing at what he was being told.

  
“Yes,” Demanitus replied. “You have been the one chosen to carry on my powers, along with developing those of your own. But look lively now! Your friends need your help, and the one who holds the power of the sundrop will need the power of the moon you bear to defeat Zhan Tiri. You must go to her now! More shall be revealed unto you, and one who knows of these things will be there to guide you as well, but right now you must trust, and face your destiny!”

  
This was all happening so fast! For sure Varian had questions! He didn’t know the first thing about magic. Heck, he still wasn’t even entirely sure he believed in it just now. But Demanitus had been right – he needed to go to Rapunzel. He had to help his friend, whatever may come of him.  
Varian nodded.

  
_“I must be crazy,”_ Varian thought to himself as he rose once again, Rudiger balancing himself on his shoulders as he turned once again to face towards Corona’s castle, his heart pounding in his chest as he took one glance back at Demantius’s shade before making his way forward, eyebrows knit together as the moon continued to cast its light upon the land.

  
“Out of all the denizens of Corona I chose you,” Varian heard the voice say in his mind, his pace gradually picking up to a run as he felt a renewed energy rise within him, the light blue streak in his hair beginning to glow as he went, and the black rocks shrinking back to let him pass as he went, and Varian’s resolve setting itself to be there for his friends, for his kingdom, and for his father.

  
“Now… _show them why!”_


	3. Reprieve

**A quick Varian and Ruddiger fan fic, taking place in the interim time between "Queen for a Day" and "Not in the Mood". Rather sad, but also some positivity involved. Enjoy!**

* * *

Varian twitched, taking in a long inhale as he came out of the fogginess of restless sleep. He grimaced hard, his hands curled into fists, and he could hear the parchment paper crinkling under them as he moved his stiff muscles. Lifting his head off of his drafting table, Varian rubbed his eyes, still baggy from lack of sleep, and swollen from shedding silent tears some time before. Hearing his master’s stirrings, Ruddiger uncurled himself from his perch nearby and bounded up onto the table, a few small chittering noises escaping his throat in meek greeting as he nudged affectionately at Varian’s shoulder. Varian laid a tired hand on his companion’s back in response, gloved fingers stroking the raccoon’s gray coat mechanically as he set his head back down upon his free arm, his face turned towards the horrible sight of his father’s still form encased in the indestructible, amber-like crystals, looking slightly distorted through the glass of a clear flask that sat on the edge of the wood table.

  
Varian continued to stare, eyes blinking slowly, stinging, but too tired and dry to shed more tears tonight. Ruddiger made a concerned cooing noise as he noted Varian’s countenance, bringing his face to nudge against Varian’s head as he settled himself down beside the heartbroken boy. Varian continued to stroke Ruddiger’s fur; just barely conscious of the little comfort and warmth it offered him as his eyes remained fixed on the horrible translucent monolith before him. As he looked at it, he could feel the fire of his resolve to fix things (and perhaps even get revenge) burn as strong as ever inside his gut, but his energy to accomplish this objective had taken one heck of a nosedive very quickly.

  
It had been two days since Varian had come back to his lab to find his father fully encased in the amber-like crystals, and he’d hardly slept or eaten within that time. Any sleep that he had gotten came unbidden, and tended to be light and fitful. When his hunger and thirst had gotten the better of him, he managed to nibble on a crust of bread with some cheese, and sip on a few glasses of water. But it had been hard to get even that down, and now he could hear and feel his stomach begin to gurgle at him again; the hunger pains clawing at him like an angry bear emerging from hibernation, and his dip in blood-sugar making him feel very heavy-headed.

  
Varian ran a gloved hand through his greasy black hair, strands of it sticking up at odd angles. He vaguely noted how having a good wash hadn’t exactly been high on his list of priorities, and Varian let out a deep sigh. He felt weak. He felt tired. Disheveled. The one bright side seemed to be that despite having trudged through a blizzard for several hours the other day he hadn’t come down (yet) with a full-blown cold or flu. (“Downright miraculous that,” Ruddiger had thought.) The used handkerchiefs scattered around Varian’s workspace testified to the precarious state of his health and wellbeing, but Varian took little notice of them as he absent-mindedly began tapping at one of the cracked beakers sitting nearby, its high-pitched, tinkling beat echoing eerily off the walls of the otherwise silent laboratory.

  
Varian’s stomach growled a second time, and upon hearing it Rudiger became earnest. He began nudging harder at Varian’s head, trying to urge him to find the sustenance he sorely needed.

  
“No, Ruddiger,” Varian murmured under his breath, half-heartedly pushing the little critter away as he folded his arms in front of him, laying his head back down, his jet black hair spreading over them like a wispy, oily pool of night.

  
But Ruddiger wasn’t going to give up on the boy so easily.

  
_“You must eat!”_ Ruddiger tried to say as he again began nudging at Varian’s form, chittering louder as Varian groaned with irritation in response. _“You must! You must eat Varian! Your stomach says so! C’mon! You need to eat now! There’s food upstairs you know! You just have to get up and then we can-!”_

  
“No Ruddiger!” Varian finally snapped, raising a hand as if poised to strike. Seeing the anger flash across Varian’s face, Rudiger backed away quickly, the vials and tubes on the table clinking with the vibrations as his paws scrambled to keep him from falling off the table.

  
For several seconds Varian glared at his companion, angry that Rudiger wouldn’t just leave him alone in his time of grief and misery. But then his expression softened as he recognized the looks of concern and fear in the raccoon’s eyes; that same expression that he saw during that terrible day, when Rudiger seemed to look at him as if looking at a stranger he was unsure about.

  
Unsure about, yes, but one he very much wanted to help, if only the little creature knew how.

  
Varian sighed as the realization struck him, and he stretched out his hands, gently bringing the frightened raccoon close. “I’m sorry,” Varian murmured into Rudiger’s coat, as Rudiger’s rigid form began to relax in his arms, his head resting on Varian’s shoulder affectionately, understanding the gesture, and Varian now grateful that the little creature had not left him alone.

  
Swiping a quick hand over his nose with a sniff, Varian stood up from his stool, and draping Rudiger over his shoulders, made his way towards the laboratory’s door. “C’mon,” he said to the companion at his shoulder, very nearly smiling an old smile himself out of habit as their eyes met. “Let’s get something to eat.”

* * *

It wasn’t the most creative food choice, but under the circumstances it would be enough for Varian. Carefully, Varian prepared two ham sandwiches, cutting the second one in half, and leaving one of the halves in the icebox for later. Taking the rest, Varian headed towards the small castle’s back stoop, with Ruddiger still balanced on his shoulders.

  
As Varian opened the back door, he couldn’t help but close his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as the night air stroked across his grimy face, ruffled his thick hair, and filled his aching lungs with a refreshing coolness. The waning moon was still high in the sky, highlighting what little patches of snow remained from the storm, and though there were a few wispy clouds here and there, they did not obstruct the view of the many clear constellations shining bright overhead. Though the horrible black rocks continued to jut out from everywhere around the yard, the darkness of the night made them less obvious to the human eye (as compared to the sky overhead). While Varian despised the very sight of them with every fiber of his being, he knew he needed the fresh air, and reluctantly had decided to eat outside. _“Besides,”_ he thought to himself with resignation, _“It’s not like I can get away from them anywhere around here anyway.”_

  
With a small grunt, Varian sat himself down on the back stairs, Ruddiger sliding off his shoulders to sit at his side, and Varian handing him the half-a-sandwich he had taken with him. Ruddiger began tucking into his meal immediately, his little paws gripping the sandwich tightly as he gnawed on it as intently as a beaver gnawing on a tree. Varian felt a slight pang in his heart as he realized the little creature had hardly eaten those last couple of days either, and likely out of loyalty to his master. Even though Rudiger was more than capable of coming and going as he pleased, he had chosen to stay at his grieving friend’s side all that time.

  
Varian looked down at his own meager but nutritious meal, his mind pensive.

  
_“If we’re going to fix this,”_ he thought to himself as he took the first bite of his sandwich, _“we’ll need to take care of ourselves…and each other. Running away or giving up won’t do any good. We have to face this!”_

  
As the moon continued to move in its course overhead, Varian and Ruddiger continued to eat in silence, valuing this brief moment of reprieve for both of them. As they ate, Varian again laid a grateful hand on Ruddiger’s back, stroking his coat affectionately as they both whittled away at their food. Ruddiger let out muddled purring noises between the little smacking noises of his jaws in response, Varian managing a small grin at this despite himself. For the fist time in a while, Varian’s mind began to kick back into gear again, forming a list in his mind of what he was going to have to do if things were going to be resolved. _“First things first,”_ he told himself sympathetically but firmly, _“We’ll need to do some cleanup, restock some supplies, and hopefully get some rest and a good wash.”_

  
“Don’t worry Dad,” Varian muttered to himself as he took another determined bite of his sandwich, his voice surprisingly steady. “I won’t let you down, and I’ll make you proud. I’ll get the answers, and I will set you free. I promise!”

  
_[“I promise…”]_

  
After finishing his sandwich, Varian brushed the remaining crumbs from his hands, and slowly stood back up. “C’mon Ruddiger,” Varian said as the raccoon leapt up into his arms, licking his chops contentedly as Varian carried him back into the castle, his own stomaching aching him much less as he reopened the door, and a new strength began to be restored to his steps. “We’ve got work to do.”


	4. Varian's Creation

**A quick drabble about the moment when Varian turned Ruddiger into his feral form for the first time. Pretty angsty (and some physical pain on the part of Ruddiger), but hopefully an enjoyable read. Man though, these two need a turnaround in their story soon! D’x**

* * *

“Ok,” Varian sighed, pushing his goggles back atop his head, swiping the back of a gloved hand across his sweaty forehead. “I think this should do it.”

  
With delicate precision, Varian sucked up some of the glowing liquid from the glass alchemy flask into a syringe, then carefully injected it into the awaiting compound bead he had on hand. Making sure the translucent casing left no leaks, Varian picked up the bead carefully between his thumb and forefinger, studying it carefully under the light of a dwindling kerosene lamp.

  
“If this works,” Varian said to Ruddiger, who sat nearby, his tail curled around him nervously, “this should give us the perfect distraction for our little visit to her majesty.”

  
Ruddiger shivered, tail curling tighter at Varian’s ominous tone, and his eyes pleading as they met his master’s. This wasn’t like him. Varian was impulsive to be sure, often took risks, and could even be a bit cheeky if the mood took him. But this was different. It wasn’t the same. Nothing had been the same since _that_ terrible day. It seemed that nearly every day Varian worked in a frenzy; tinkering, welding, building and compounding this, that, and the other thing, but not with the usual joyful attentiveness Rudiger once knew. There was no joy in this new intensity that Varian had taken on. A sort of twisted glee at times, perhaps, but not joy.

  
Ruddiger wished so badly that he could speak, to be able to share his thoughts and feelings with the boy and steer him away from disaster. What good was he if all he was able to do was _be_ there?

  
Well now, apparently, according to Varian, that was all about to change. But to what end, the little raccoon wondered?

  
“Alright Ruddiger,” Varian carried on, holding out the compound bead towards him, “Eat up little guy!”

  
Ruddiger looked between the bead, to Varian’s face, and then back to the bead again, giving it a small sniff before backing away a pace and shaking his head.

  
“C’mon Ruddiger, please?” Varian asked, Ruddiger’s ears pinning back at Varian’s near whining tone. That wasn’t like him either. “Just one little swallow, that’s all it is! It’ll only take a few seconds. It’ll be fine, trust me!”

  
A quivering coo escaped Ruddiger’s throat as he turned his attention again to what Varian was offering him. Ruddiger didn’t know all of the ingredients that had gone into making it, but he certainly noticed the concentrated dimberry juice that had gone into it. If such a small little berry could cause hyperactivity in Ruddiger’s rodent cousins, what would a concentrated compound of it do to him? He figured it must enhance his physical prowess somehow, but Rudiger didn’t very much fancy the idea of running hyperactive all over the place.

  
The little raccoon shook his head a second time.

  
“Oh, what, _now_ you decide not to help me!?” Varian snapped, getting right into Ruddiger’s face, his free palm slamming down on the table as the little creature cowered in response. “I thought you were on _my_ side Ruddiger! Everyone else had turned their backs on me, but I never thought you would too! Ooooh no, but no! Seems I can’t trust _anyone_ around here! I’m _this_ close to getting the solution to free my dad, and my own best friend stands in my way!” Varian began pacing, his arms flailing about in wild gesturing as Ruddiger watched him wide-eyed, hardly recognizing his old master as he ranted on.

  
“And what, _you don’t trust me_!? I’ve calculated the margin of error down to the nearest thousandth, thank you very much. But, no. That’s fine. You just want to stay in your own little happy woodland creature existence while my father remains encased in amber, and the only plan I have that will guarantee my enemies’ cooperation is left hanging because _you_ wouldn’t just do this one small thing for me. Just this one thing! That’s all I ask! You and everyone else just can’t stop to think for _one_ second about how _I_ might be-!”

  
Ruddiger had heard enough.

  
With ears pinned back flat against his skull, Ruddiger dashed forward, scurrying up Varian’s form in a flash, forepaws reaching for his hand that still held the bead with the serum, Varian stopping mid-sentence in surprise as he felt Ruddiger climb up him. Once he felt his paws close around the little sphere, Ruddiger leapt back down his eyes boring back into Varian’s own.

  
_“You want my help!?”_ Ruddiger’s eyes and brief chitterings attempted to convey as Varian stared back. _“Fine! Let’s just see what this stuff does, shall we? Let’s see just what this plan of yours looks like!”_

  
Before he could stop himself again, Ruddiger shoved the bead into his mouth, swallowing hard as he felt it go down his esophagus. For several minutes, both boy and raccoon waited with baited breath for something to happen. Ruddiger kept his eyes locked on Varian’s face, while Varian’s eyes scanned Rudiger’s form, looking for the slightest sign of change.

  
“It…it didn’t-” Varian began to say, but he never got to complete that sentence, as at that moment Ruddiger doubled over, writhing and twitching on the floor in apparent agony, his terrified screeches ringing in Varian’s ears and sending invisible darts through his heart.

  
“RUDDIGER!” Varian shouted, sounding the closest to his old self that Rudiger had heard in days as he crashed onto his knees beside the little creature, hands hovering over him, unsure of what to do. “I- I’M SORRY! DON’T WORRY, I’LL- I’LL STOP THIS, I’LL FIGURE OUT-!”

  
It was too late.

  
To Varian’s horror, Ruddiger’s body began to expand like a shaggy balloon, his shoulders and head rapidly increasing in proportion to the rest of his body, and tawny muscles showing beneath the welts that began to form on his forelimbs. Ruddiger’s claws began to jut out of his paws like razor sharp knives, and left gashes in the stone floor beneath them as he continued to flail about. Varian tried to quickly rise to his feet and step back, only to find his quivering legs give out from beneath him, falling back flat down on his bum as Ruddiger threw his head back, a great howl of dismay escaping him as his jaws lengthened, and his teeth grew out from his mouth like the fangs of a saber-toothed cat.

  
_“What have I done!?”_ was all that Varian could think as he now beheld the great beast before him. After a few more twitches and convulsions, the creature that had once been Ruddiger lay down panting, Varian feeling the vibrations of its breath through the floor beneath them and in the air around them. Varian hardly noticed his own rapid pace of breath as he shifted back another few inches, his heart pounding hard and his eyes bulging.

  
_“What have I done!!?”_

  
After another moment, the beast lay almost perfectly still.

  
“R-Ruddi-” Varian attempted to say, his voice raw and meek as began to lean forward, extending a quivering hand towards the gigantic, hairy form.  
Upon hearing his master’s voice, Ruddiger’s eyes snapped open, their blank white brilliance pinning Varian under their gaze as they fixed on him. For a whole several seconds, Varian could neither move nor force any noise to come from his throat as he looked back into those eyes, a low rumble of a growl accompanying their stare as the creature began to rise.

  
“AAAAH!” Varian finally let out a yelp of terror as the monster towered over him, and began approaching him with slow, heavy footfalls. Varian shuffled his way backwards, cringing hard and hissing through his teeth as his head made contact with the stone wall of his lab. When he opened his eyes again, he found he had come face to face with the monster’s glittering white fangs, saliva dripping off of them, and its hot breath tickling his face and tussling his hair.

  
Varian screwed his eyes tightly shut, hoping, praying that this was all somehow just a bad dream, and he would wake up from it at any moment. Varian panted hard, face turned away as he could feel the behemoth come even closer.

  
_“I hope this doesn’t hurt for long!”_ Varian plead as he let out a sob, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, and his beating heart crying out in agony over what he had done, and what was to be done to him.

  
Though presently, instead of feeling long teeth and claws tearing into him, Varian felt something warm, wet, and a little bit rough swipe gently across his cheek. With a gasp, Varian carefully opened his eyes, his frightened face now meeting the eyes of the great beast.  
Its very sad, and sorrowful eyes.

  
“R-Ruddiger?” Varian asked in a shaky voice, the great beast whimpering in reply as it buried its head in Varian’s chest, careful not to crush the boy between himself and the stone wall, Ruddiger’s nose feeling every beat of Varian’s rapid heart as he held himself close.

  
Varian’s first feeling was one of immense relief. _It was Rudiger! And he was still here! He still remembered!_

   
But as Varian threw his arms around his most loyal companion, he also felt a harsh jerk of sick shame.

  
_“What have I done!?”_

  
Varian swallowed hard, refusing to let his thoughts wander too far down that road as he clutched desperately at Ruddiger’s fur, and Ruddiger nudged him gently in return. There was no good letting himself feel regret. He had come too far. There was no going back now.

  
No going back…

  
Varian let out a few forced, gleeful huffs as he buried his face in Ruddiger’s fur. “Heh heh! N-not gonna lie, you kind of scared me there…” he said, trying to keep the previous, confident, sassy tone that he had adopted over the last several days…but the horror of what he had done was still far to raw in his mind, and before he could stop himself, Varian began to shake with pitiful weeping.

  
“I’m sorry-…” he managed to choke out before crying took his voice completely, and Rudiger let out a low, cooing drone from his throat, conveying reassurance as he settled down by his master.

  
_“I’m here,”_ he seemed to say. _“And I won’t leave you. I promise.”_

  
For the first time in a long while, Varian gladly embraced that one kept promise still left to him.


	5. Sleipnir

**Some more Varian angst. Sorry/not sorry.**

* * *

It was a bright, sunshiny afternoon in the capital of Corona, and Varian despised every second of it as he continued to work under a beating sun, a gloved hand wicking sweat out of his face as the crowds continued to mill about around him. _“Crick! Crick! Crick!”_ went the wrench as he tightened one of the bolts on a merchant cart in the central plaza, doing his best to ignore the glances, stares, and murmurings his presence prompted as people shuffled on by. Pete, Stan, and the Captain of the Guard himself stood nearby, their stoic manner deterring anyone from getting too close, and deterring Varian from attempting any sort of mischief or escape.

  
_Crick! Crick! Crick!_

  
I had been two weeks since the battle of Old Corona, and within that time Varian had been sentenced to many hours of community service in the kingdom’s capital. He supposed it had been the king’s idea of being merciful – and likely it was – but Varian hated it. It was humiliating and boring, and Varian (almost) wished that he had just been sentenced to something like solitary confinement instead. At least then there would be no pretending that in just doing a few favors for everyone around town for so many hours that Varian would somehow “come to his senses” in it all.   
Sure, Varian had impressed Uncle Monty with his clockwork candy town window display (made ENTIRELY out of sculpting sugar), and Feldspar with his automatic shoe-shining machine…but none of it mattered. Not really. Even when – despite his obstinate state – Varian did his tasks as only he could, nothing had changed; his father was still trapped in amber, Varian was still being punished for his crimes, and he still hadn’t done anything to make his dad proud.

  
What a waste.

  
At first, Varian’s tasks had been a few odd jobs around the castle itself, as (nearly) no one trusted him outside of its front gates. That interim time especially had been bitter salt in the wound to him. Not only had he found himself in the custody of those who had wronged him deeply, but now they had him working for them, like some sort of palace servant.

  
Varian hated it.

  
_Whack! Whack! Whack!_

  
Across the way, Varian could hear Xavier pounding away in his forge, and Varian’s heart ached with the longing to once again pick up a set of tongs himself and mold some hot metal into some sort of spectacular creation. But it was no surprise though that there was quite the wide range of tools and activities that he was now restricted from, and it only made his wounds feel the sting of more salt as he listened to the echo of the blacksmith’s hammering.

  
_Whack! Whack! Whack!_

  
Varian paused in his own work, testing out the tightness of the bolts with a quick push and tug before sitting down for a moment, taking a few gulps of water from the canteen allotted to him from the palace kitchens. He kept his eyes downcast from everyone as he adjusted his vest (they insisted he wear the absurdly bright and stupid thing while carrying out his tasks around town), and shifted the shackle around his left ankle that connected him to a small ball and chain, just heavy enough to prevent him from running away.

  
…Not like he had anywhere to run _to_ now. But as the Captain had told him, “Sorry. It’s protocol, kid.”

  
By now, Pete, Stan, and the Captain had learned that attempting to strike up any sort of conversation with Varian was almost certainly futile. The boy had hardly spoken more than a few, monosyllabic words since they’d brought him to the capital (a trait they had never witnessed before from the formerly chatty alchemist), and any attempts to get him to speak more were met with a defiant silence, or Varian deliberately making more noise from whatever he was working on, drowning out their voices from his ears.

  
…There had even been one time where Stan and Pete attempted a kind of apology for throwing Varian back out into the snow on that oh so terrible of days those several months ago. “We were just doing our job kid-” Pete had tried to say, only to be met by a glare from Varian that would’ve sent a dozen daggers clean through the both of them, if only it could. Needless to say, attempts at conversation since then had been very few and far between, though the nitwit guards still tried nonetheless.

  
The only soul who Varian spoke more than a few words to was Ruddiger, who had been allowed to stay with Varian at the queen’s insistence. Though it was suspected that Varian would use Ruddiger to smuggle in supplies for an escape plan (or other hostile dealings), Queen Arianna was able to eventually convince the Captain to allow Ruddiger to stay with the boy, so long as he too was under close surveillance and under lock-and-key as well. When Varian was in the palace, Ruddiger was allowed to tag along with him on a leash. But when Varian was out in the town, Rudiger was kept behind, confined to their secure living quarters.

  
Varian could hardly believe that after everything that happened – or more specifically, after everything _he’d_ done, if he allowed himself to be honest with himself – Ruddiger had voluntarily chosen to stay with him, and under such conditions, too. Varian would often mutter his gratitude to Ruddiger once they were alone together at the end of a hard day, and would also proceed to vent to him about how stupid and unfair everything was when it came to everyone else. Ruddiger was a patient listener though, and while Varian missed hearing another voice in dialogue with him, it was certainly much better than nothing.

  
With a heavy sigh, Varian hoisted himself back up again, tucking his canteen away and reaching for the oilcan in his limited tool kit. As he looked to squirting some on the joints of the trade cart, the usual hustle and bustle noises around him were interrupted by a child’s sudden cry.

  
“WWAAAAAAHHHH!”

  
Varian turned, looking over his shoulder to see a little girl in the middle of the cobblestone clearing holding what appeared to be a broken toy of some sort, a few of its wooden parts strewn across the way in front of her. Several people also paused to glance at the commotion as the girl’s mother came running up behind her, trying to console the child as she gathered up the broken pieces, trying to tell her that they would find some way to fix it.

  
“Oh dear, hard luck huh?” Varian overheard Stan say to Pete as he turned back to continue his work, his teeth clenched at the sound of the child’s continued sobs.

  
“Yeah, poor kid.”

  
Varian huffed. What did that kid know about any _real_ pain or loss anyway? Stupid toy wasn’t even real.

  
After another few seconds, the sounds of the child’s whimperings suddenly stopped, and then the sound of little feet scurrying across the cobblestones could be heard, along with a woman’s shout of, “Sweetie wait! STOP!” and “Hey! Hold on kid! You can’t go passed this point- hey! Stop! Come back here!” from the Captain.

  
And finally-

  
“PLEASE SIR!”

  
Varian nearly jumped out of his skin as the sweet, high-pitched, pleading voice suddenly sounded at his shoulder. Varian’s head whipped round, coming face-to-face with the tear-stained, freckled face of the little girl, who held out her broken toy and its pieces towards him.

  
“P-please sir! Can you fix him!?”

  
Varian blinked, mouth opening part way in surprise at the sudden, unexpected turn of events (and for hearing himself being called “sir” for the first time in his life). He glanced back and forth from the girl, to the broken pieces, and then up at the guards and mother who now stood in a semicircle around the two of them. Varian could see the look of worry in the girl’s mother’s eyes, which had of course noticed the vest and ball and chain he wore, and then there were Pete, Stan, and the Captain, who all three glanced between each other with looks of uncertainty.

  
Varian suddenly felt very transparent, the horrible feeling of being watched with the intensity of a hawk as the little girl piped up again, her innocent mind oblivious to the situation she had just rushed headlong into. “Please sir!” she pled with Varian again, holding out the pieces more insistently. “Please save Sleipnir!”

  
At the sound of such an unusual name for a toy, Varian looked down again at the pieces. He now saw why the girl must’ve picked him out in the crowd to have possibly been someone who could fix him. The little girl held a beautifully carved and painted wooden horse; the kind that had wheels and could be pulled around with a piece of string. Somehow – likely from being a bit too rough with it on the cobblestone streets – one of the axels had snapped apart, with two of the wheels having flown off completely, and one splintered in half. The paint of the horse had also gotten scratched up on one side, and a crack ran along its right flank. Given the sorry state of the toy horse’s wheels, she must’ve seen Varian working on the trade cart’s wheels from across the way, and figured he then must know what to do to fix it.

  
Varian frowned, brow furrowing as the situation also suddenly seemed so familiar to him…

  
_[“You’re the only one who can help, please! You need to come to Old Corona with me. Now!”]_

  
“Um, listen kid,” the Captain finally interrupted, stepping forward to put himself between the girl and Varian. “I’m afraid Varian can’t…Well, you see-”

  
“C’mon, sweetie,” the girl’s mother tried again, reaching for her daughter’s wrist. “We can find someone else who will fix-”

  
“NO! Sleipnir needs help NOW!” the girl insisted, tears threatening to pour down her freckled face again as she pulled herself away from her mother’s grasp.

  
“It’ll be alright honey,” her mother tried again, more firmly this time. “Sleipnir will be fine until later. Let’s just head home and-”

  
“NOOO!” the girl began to cry, as the mother began dragging her away by the wrist, and the guards looked helplessly from one to the other.

  
_[“No no no no!…Princess! My dad needs help! RAPUNZEL!”]_

  
Varian cringed hard. _“…For crying out loud!”_ he thought to himself as he rose to his feet.

  
“Hey, wait!” Varian called, all eyes suddenly turning to him, and mother and child pausing to look behind them. “I-I can fix it. Er, him. I can fix him,” Varian called, then turning to the Captain. “If I have your permission, Captain.”

  
The Captain stared down at Varian, eyes wide. It was the most that he had heard Varian speak at one time since they had admitted him into custody. After a moment or two of thought, the Captain’s expression softened a bit, and he nodded. _“Perhaps there’s a way to reach you after all, boy…”_ he thought to himself as he turned toward the mother and child.

  
“If quite agreeable ma’am,” the Captain began, “the boy does know quite a bit about fixing things. Plus he is doing community service under our watch. I can assure you there’s nothing to worry about.”

  
The mother looked from the Captain, to Varian, to his ball and chain, and back to the Captain again. Her expression told everything that Varian needed to know.

  
_“Of course,”_ Varian thought to himself, as he watched her open her mouth to reply, Varian’s head hanging low, and his hair dangling over his stinging eyes.

  
“Please mommy…” the little girl interjected before her mother could reply. “Please let him save Sleipnir!”

  
Looking down at her daughter, her mother’s worried eyes softened a bit, and with a small nod, allowed her daughter to go trotting back to Varian, eagerly shoving the broken pieces of Sleipnir into his hands.

  
“Ok,” Varian began, laying the pieces out on a small piece of tarp that had been hanging on the cart, and the little girl watching the whole time with fascination. “Let’s see here…Not too bad, all things considered. The axel is snapped though. We’re gonna need a new one. I think this bit of wiring should do the trick. As for the snapped wheel, I’ve got some wood glue here somewhere that should take care of that…”

  
As Varian continued to put the pieces back together, he continued to chatter on about every step he was making, and the little girl looked on in wide-eyed wonder, hanging onto his every word as he took her step by step through the repair process. After only a few minutes, everything was done, and aside from the paint still scuffed on one side, the wooden horse was good as new.

  
“Just make sure you let the wood glue dry before you try wheeling him around again, ok?” Varian told the girl as he handed Sleipnir back to her, the little girl turning him over and over in her hands as she studied Varian’s handiwork. Varian suddenly came back to himself as he caught himself smiling at her fascination – the first real smile that had graced his face in a long time – and shook himself, set his face back to its usual stoic manner as he gathered up the tarp in his arms, slinging it back over the handle of the trade cart as he set about to resume his original work.

  
“Now, just be more careful from now on wi-”

  
Varian never did finish what he was going to say, for as he turned back around, he felt the little girl’s small arms wrap around his middle, her head buried in his work apron.

  
“Thank you thank you thank you!” she said gleefully, face turning up to look at him, her eyes shimmering with joy. Varian stared back down at her, completely stunned, and hands hovering in midair, unsure of what to do.

  
“A-alright now, sweetie,” the girl’s mother said, gently peeling her away from Varian, “Say good-bye to the nice boy, and let’s go home now.”

  
“Bye-bye! Thank you!” the girl called to Varian as she tucked Sleipnir under one arm, waved good-bye with her free hand, and her mother giving him both a sympathetic and grateful look over her shoulder as they turned away and walked down the avenue.

  
“…Bye…” Varian whispered after them, raising a half-hearted hand in return before returning to oiling the joints of the wagon, the guards and the Captain straining to hold their usual stoic expressions as they resumed their positions nearby him.


	6. Escape!

**For funsies! A sort of speculative piece for season 02. Enjoy!**

* * *

Princess Rapunzel grit her teeth hard as Zhan Tiri’s minions led her into the central chamber of the dark castle, the cords around her wrists digging in hard as their footfalls could be heard echoing off the high-roofed corridors, which faded into inky blackness above them. The blank, glowing eyes of her captors looked eerily familiar to the princess as she risked quick glances at each of them; the poor, masked people held under a curse they never chose.

  
_“Don’t worry,”_ she wanted so badly to say to them. _“I’ll find a way out of this. I’ll rejoin my friends, get help from Corona, and free you all! I promise!”_ But she knew such words would fall on (literal) deaf ears.

  
…Plus her own confidence in being able to keep her promises had been badly shaken many months ago…She dare not proclaim such things lightly now.

  
As the great ebony doors of the central chamber began to open, Rapunzel shook herself from her musings as harsh green light stung her eyes. As the procession entered, Rapunzel scanned her surroundings, noting the green light coming from a great chandelier hanging above them, and flaming torches ensconced in each pillar. At the head of the room was a great table in the shape of a semi-circle, where Zhan Tiri’s head demons sat, with plates piled high with food items and other glowing confectionaries Rapunzel did not recognize.

  
While Rapunzel strained to keep her game face on, she couldn’t help but feel a shiver run up her spine at the sight of such a gathering, and dreaded to think about what this whole meeting would mean for her.

  
_“If only they had brought out a frying pan,”_ Rapunzel thought to herself as more hypnotized servants paraded in from the side of the room, switching out dirtied plates with fresh vittles. Apparently, she had been brought in at the very end of the meeting, when the dessert course was being served on platters full of cakes and cookies. Under most any other circumstance it would’ve amused Rapunzel to find that Zhan Tiri’s demons actually dined in a similar manner to people (and perhaps would’ve considered asking them to tea to talk things out). But as it was, the whole thing was much more off-putting than Rapunzel would’ve ever anticipated, and it didn’t seem like a nice chat over tea would solve whatever vendettas these creatures had against the Seven Kingdoms.

  
As the dirty dishes were carried away out of the room, some of the servants stayed behind, pitchers of some unknown liquid held in their hands, awaiting for their calls to top up the demons’ drinks. Rapunzel again felt sorrowful pangs in her heart for them as they stood awaiting, their eyes and minds blank.

  
“Ah, and here’s our little flower now!” one of the demons said, rising from its place at the central chair of the head table, dismissing Rapunzel’s escorts with a wave of his hands. As the great doors echoed with a clang behind them, the figure continued to speak, Rapunzel forcing herself to look him in the eyes defiantly as she stood alone before them. She would not give such cowards the satisfaction of seeing her hang her head in defeat or fear.

  
“So,” the he-demon began, “ _this_ is the one who bears the magic of the sun drop flower! Brethren! This before you is the one who will help us to free our master, take back the land denied us by Lord Demanitus, and once again herald the beginnings of a new campaign of terror upon this world!”

  
Cheers, claps, and pounding fists began to sound throughout the hall at this, the head demon bowing in response.

  
_“Someone has quite the ego,”_ Rapunzel thought to herself, furrowing her brow in disgust.

  
“Yes, yes, my friends!” he continued. “Our time is nigh! Yet, you all know as well as I that we cannot use the magic of the sun drop as she is now. She…” Here the demon paused to give an evil chuckle, Rapunzel’s grinding her teeth in response. “ _She_ must first be _turned_!”

  
Another chorus of cheers and shouts began to rise from those present.

  
“Never!” Rapunzel finally shouted, everyone hushing in surprised response. “I’ll never work for you!” Rapunzel declared, daring to take a few steps closer to the dais, her bare feet padding on the rough stones of the floor. “I already know all of your little tricks! My friends and I already defeated Sugracha the Eternal, and we’ll defeat you all too! I’ll _never_ let you use my hair for your schemes!”

  
At the mentioning of Sugracha’s defeat, a few worried murmurs and gasps were heard coming from those present. After a second of stunned silence, however, the head demon gave a sinister smile in response. “Oh, my poor sweet dear,” he hissed. “I’m afraid you’ve only seen a fraction of what the followers of Zhan Tiri can do! You will join our side presently. If not by force, I’m sure we can figure out a way to… _persuade_ you to aid us in our endeavors. I am sure that you wouldn’t want your kingdom to-”

  
“Ugh! BOOOOOO!”

  
Now it was Rapunzel’s turn to have a look of surprise, along with everyone else, as one of the demons on the far end of the table suddenly began shouting, their scratchy voice echoing around them as they chucked a half-eaten cookie across the room. “Persuading her to join us!? That’s lame! C’mon! I want to see her fight for her life! BRING OUT THE HYDRAS!!!”

  
“Oh sure!” another one suddenly piped up, both Rapunzel and the head demon looking utterly confused by what they were witnessing. “That’s real original, coming from you! You always pick the most boring monsters for mortals to fight!”

  
“What!?”

  
“You heard me you old toad! If you really want to see a good fight, we should summon one of the giant spiders from the mines of-!”

  
“Giant spiders are so cliché,” a rather dignified-sounding demon interjected, “just like your fashion choices.”

  
“What!? You take that back!”

  
Suddenly, nearly the whole hall began exploding into arguments, the head demon’s voice shouting above the chaos, trying to bring some semblance of order back to the meeting, but no one seemed to heed him. (And when they did, he was met with burning insults from those who did speak to him.)

  
“What in the world…?” Rapunzel said to herself, taking a few paces away from the head table, not sure if she should find the whole scene amusing or terrifying. Did all demon counsels run like this? If so, it was no wonder they needed their master to bring them to order.

  
“HEY!” the head demon suddenly called out to her, noticing Rapunzel’s subtle movements away. “Where do you think you’re going you-!?”

  
But the head demon was interrupted as suddenly one of the servants standing off to the side rushed forward, its dark form streaking across Rapunzel’s field of vision before the sound of shattering ceramics filled the room. A bright flash of light followed, and then a thick cloud of red-purple fog swept through the chamber. Rapunzel coughed, choking on the smoke that filled her lungs and stung her eyes. Her hands tugged hard in protest at the cords holding them behind her back, her reflexes urging her to rub the smoke and tears out of her eyes.

  
Then, to her astonishment, her hands were suddenly cut free, and she eagerly brought them up to her face, wiping away the fog’s irritants.

  
“Here!” a muffled, masculine voice suddenly called at her shoulder, Rapunzel feeling around blindly as a handkerchief was shoved into her hand. “Put this over your nose and mouth, and _run_!” the stranger told her, grabbing her free hand and making a dash for one of the side doors of the chamber.  
Rapunzel followed the stranger’s instructions, holding the kerchief over her nose and mouth as her legs pumped hard beneath her, her hand holding tight to her mysterious guide’s as he led her through the fog, and confused shouts, hisses, and howlings could be heard around them. By now, a whole flurry of questions began forming in Rapunzel’s mind, but there was no time to sift through them now.

  
“Duck!” she heard the stranger shout to her from ahead, and in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it moment, Rapunzel ducked just in time to avoid being hit by a great, spiked club being swung over their heads.

  
“Hey, watch it you idiot!” a gravely voice shouted close by. “You always had horrible aim!”

  
After dodging around several more demon figures (now engaged in an all out brawl apparently), the stranger finally pushed his way through one of the side doors, the air beginning to clear as the two of them rushed down the cold, dark hallways beyond. Rapunzel took the kerchief away from her nose and mouth, using it to wipe again at her eyes, and finally getting a better look at her mysterious rescuer as they continued to sprint. He was a rather short little person, and thin, wearing one of the dark cloaks all of the servants wore, with the hood up over his head. From behind, Rapunzel couldn’t get a look at his face, but she imagined given his muffled voice that he must’ve been wearing one of the servant’s masks as well.

  
“How did you break the curse?” Rapunzel began to ask, wanting to know how this one servant managed to break the spell holding him to the bidding of his masters, and how he planned such an escape like that.

  
“Not now!” he shouted to her over his shoulder. “Just keep running and don’t look back!”

  
Rapunzel obeyed, keeping pace with him as he released her hand, the both of them now running neck and neck through the palace hallways. Every now and then they had to dodge around a servant working in the halls, but for several moments, they encountered no worse impediment. Until…

  
“Aaah!” both Rapunzel and her rescuer yelped, as suddenly a guard of the palace came charging at them down the hall in front of them, blocking their way. “Don’t worry,” Rapunzel said to her rescuer. “I’ve got this one!”

  
With a quick flick of her wrists, Rapunzel undid the elastics holding back her unbreakable locks, and with another twist and flurry she soon had the guard tangled up in her hair, and threw him out of the window at their right.

  
“C’mon!” Rapunzel shouted to her companion. “Hurry!”

  
After taking a few more hurried turnings, the two of them could hear more guards closing in on them from the surrounding area. There was only one way left to go.

  
“Quick! Out here!” Rapunzel called to her companion, the both of them shattering their way through one of the windows, sidling their way on the narrow ledge outside.

  
“Only one way down,” Rapunzel said to him, holding out her hand to the masked figure, her hair beginning to glow bright with gold. “It’ll be ok! Just trust me!”

  
While she couldn’t actually see his face, Rapunzel could perceive the gears ticking away in her rescuer’s brain behind his mask, wondering whether he should or should not jump with her. Rapunzel knew he must’ve never seen such a phenomenon before with her glowing hair, and she was literally asking him to take a leap of faith with her, but there was no time. It was now or never.

  
As a flurry of shouts began to crescendo up from behind them, her companion gave a quick court nod, and grasped her hand as the two of them stepped off into midair, clawed and flaying hands attempting to grasp them from behind.

  
Rapunzel could feel her companion’s courage wane as he suddenly flailed about in midair, surprising her by wrapping his arms tightly around her middle like a frightened child, and his face buried into her torso as the cool night air rushed passed them, and the ground getting rapidly closer.  
Then, right on cue, Rapunzel’s hair swirled around them, forming a protective cocoon, allowing them to crash to the ground safe and unharmed.

  
As they rolled to a stop at the bottom of the hill upon which the dark castle sat, Rapunzel’s hair fell away, her rescuer still hanging onto her, quivering for a few seconds before daring to pull away. “Are you alright?” Rapunzel inquired, resting her hands on his shoulders, steadying him.

  
“Y-yeah,” her rescuer stammered, managing a few amused huffs as they made to stand up. “Heh heh! Talk about a rush though, am I right? Whew! Don’t want to do that again for a while! I mean, falling from such a height would’ve undoubtedly meant terminal velocity upon impact.”

  
“…What-?” Rapunzel began to gasp, the stranger’s words suddenly sounding not-so-strange…

  
“Shh!” the stranger suddenly shushed. “Do you hear that?”

  
Both of them fell silent, the sound of scuttling claws being heard coming down the tower behind them.

  
“Oh no! Quick! We have to get out of here princess! They’ll find us soon!” the stranger said, making another grab at Rapunzel’s arm.

  
_“’Princess’!?”_ Rapunzel thought to herself, remembering that no one in the castle had referred to her as such. There was no way any one of the servants could’ve known that detail about her!

  
Unless…

  
Rapunzel quickly snatched her arm away before they had gone more than a few paces. “No, wait!” she said, her eyes meeting the stranger’s, who also stopped and looked back into her own. “You…You’re not…” Rapunzel swallowed hard. “You…know who I am?”

  
The stranger’s face turned away, a second’s silence following before a sigh and hollow chuckle came from him. “How could I not? I mean…”  
Then, he removed his mask and hood. Rapunzel gasped, eyes wide as a familiar, youthful face looked back up at her from under a thick mop of jet-black locks, and a signature blue streak highlighted in the moonlight.

  
“…Look at your hair.”

  
Rapunzel stood rooted to the spot, shocked. “Varian!?” she asked aloud, hardly believing her eyes. Her rescuer…was _Varian_??

  
_“But how!??”_ Rapunzel thought in alarm, her heart beating hard. Varian was supposed to be in custody in Corona! What was he doing _here_!? What could he be plotting now!?

  
Before Varian could say a word in reply in Rapunzel’s stunned expression, and before Rapunzel could ask any more questions, the scuttling sounds of claws and teeth got louder behind them. Varian turned towards the surrounding tangle of forest before them, giving a few quick, high-pitched whistles, as if signaling someone (or some _thing_ ). Rapunzel felt the ground beneath her rumble a little as a huge, shaggy figure came bounding into view at Varian’s call.

  
“Ruddiger!” Rapunzel breathed, the raccoon once again donning his giant, feral form, and kneeling down as Varian scrambled to climb onto his back.  
“Hurry Rapunzel!” Varian called, extending a hand down towards her, Ruddiger’s ears and nose twitching in earnest, and a warning rumble escaping his throat as the dark creatures rushed closer from behind.

Rapunzel paused, fear and hurt mixing with astonishment as she looked back up at him, “Varian, I- I don’t-”

  
“I know,” Varian interrupted, his eyes conveying understanding of Rapunzel’s hesitation and deep distrust, though not bothering to offer any other words of persuasion. No time for that.

  
Would she take a leap of faith of her own now?

  
Rapunzel’s eyes cast down briefly, her teeth and her fists clenching in determination. And then hurrying forward, she grasped Varian’s hand as he helped swing her up onto Rudiger’s back behind him.

  
“Hang on!” Varian told her as he nudged Ruddiger on with his heels, Rapunzel’s arms throwing themselves around Varian’s middle as Ruddiger charged back through the trees, their branches whipping past he a bounded off into the night, Rapunzel’s hair trailing behind them in a fluttering, golden stream.

  
“Varian!” Rapunzel shouted above the wind whipping past her ears. “I…I don’t understand, wha…what’re you doing here? What are you up to?”

  
“Well, breaking parole for a start,” Varian shouted back. “But we’ll talk more later! Right now, we gotta get you back to Eugene and the others.”

  
Rapunzel gasped. “They’re…they’re ok!? You know where they are!?”

  
“Yeah, they’re at the- Whoa!”

  
Varian’s words were cut off as a dark stream of magic went shooting passed them, just missing Rudiger’s massive shoulders.

  
“But first,” Varian continued, his own teeth clenching in determination. “We gotta shake these guys! Show ‘em what you’ve got big guy!”

  
And with that, Rudiger let out a feral roar, and continued to charge through wood as the sounds of the dark creatures began to fade away behind them.


	7. A Neighbor in Need

**A little drabble written in response to a Tumblr post where it was observed that in the episode “Fitzherbert, P.I.”, when Eugene takes on a job as a cabby, he accidentally drops off an old lady in front of Varian’s house of all places. Just wanted to jot down a quick drabble of what it may have been like if had Varian noticed the old lady’s plight and decided to help her out. Enjoy!**

* * *

Varian was just adding the last parts of distilled vinegar to his latest concoction when he heard the sound of a carriage drawing up quickly outside his house. “Huh…” Varian wondered aloud, having not expected any visitors to the manor that day. “I wonder who that could be.”

  
Being so far away from Corona’s capital it was, of course, not every day that Varian and Quirin had visitors drawing up in horse-drawn carriages to their door. And with Quirin having left hours ago to tend to the fields with the other farmers in the village, it was clear that he had not been expecting anyone to come calling that day either.

  
_“I wonder if it’s an emergency!”_ Varian thought to himself, quickly going to the window to have a look, half expecting to see members of the royal guard and perhaps a currier coming up the front pathway. Instead, Varian got to the window just in time to see Flynn Rider of all people hurrying a carriage away in a cloud of dust, and a slightly-dazed old lady Varian did not recognize looking about her in confusion as Flynn drove away.

  
Varian blinked a few times. This was certainly an unexpected way to start the day.

  
“But, this isn’t my house!” Varian heard the old lady shout after Flynn. But Flynn was far out of earshot now, and Varian watched as the old lady continued to look about her, obviously not sure what to do now. Varian had no idea what was going on, but he knew he couldn’t just leave the lady in front of his house like that.

  
_“Better see what’s up,”_ Varian thought as he headed for the front door. Peeking his head out, Varian called to her from across the way.

  
“Hey! Um, excuse me miss! But I couldn’t help notice you-”

  
“Oh! Oh my!” the lady cried out as she turned towards Varian’s voice, looking very startled as her eyes caught sight of him. Again, Varian blinked a couple times in confusion. Was everyone behaving oddly today?

  
“Oh!” Varian suddenly exclaimed in realization, pulling back the welding mask he had been wearing for protection as he had been working. “Oh, no no! It’s ok! Sorry about that ma’am. I…just forgot I was wearing this thing.”

  
“Oh, th-that’s quite all right,” the lady replied, somewhat breathless from the quick scare. “I say. Do you know where I am young man?”

  
“In Old Corona,” Varian replied as he set his mask on the stonework by the front door, Ruddiger trotting up behind him at his heels as he approached the confused old lady.

  
“Oh dear, oh dear,” the lady muttered to herself. “That fool of a cab driver! I told him I needed to get to my cottage at the foot of Mount Saison, not to the castle in Old Corona!”

  
“Well,” Varian attempted to offer helpfully, not very much liking how the old lady was talking about his revered hero. “Maybe he just misheard you or something?”

  
The old lady sighed. “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps. Oh, now what to do though, what to do? Oh! Say, young man! Would you happen to know anyone else with a carriage or a horse who could bring me to my cottage?”

  
“Well…” Varian began, holding a gloved hand up to his chin in thought.

  
“Several of the families here own wagons for moving hay and produce and things, but the only real carriage we have is under lock and key in the neighbor’s shed. And most everyone’s out in the fields right now, so…”

  
“Oh, I see,” the old lady replied, her tone disappointed, but also with an undertone of patience. “Well, thank you anyway young man. Hmm…” she then hummed in a concerned way, looking about her again and up at the sky. “Well, there’s no way I’ll get there before nightfall on these old legs of mine. Would there happen to be a place I could stay the night do you think? I would have to pay for any hospitality later I’m afraid, but if anyone would be willing to let me rent a space for the night, I would be ever so grateful.”

  
Varian paused to think. Of course there was many a neighbor in Old Corona who would be willing to help this poor woman out (and even if there weren’t, Quirin as the village leader would gladly provide a place for her to stay the night in the castle), but it just didn’t seem fair to Varian that this sweet old lady couldn’t get to her cottage just because Flynn dropped her off at the wrong place, and then none of those who knew how to drive a cart or ride a horse were available to help. Surely there must be something that Varian could do to help! Varian wasn’t much for riding horses (plus most of them were with the farmers in the fields doing their share of the work anyway), but perhaps he could think of something else…

  
“Ah!” Varian gasped with a snap of his fingers. “I have an idea! You may be able to get to your cottage today after all ma’am!”

  
“Oh really!?” the lady exclaimed. “Oh, that would be just wonderful! But, uh, how?”

  
“Just give me a sec! I’ll be right back!” Varian said over his shoulder as he ran to the castle’s shed. Flinging the door open, Varian scanned around the myriad of boxes and shelves and lumpy sheet-covered shapes that lined the walls. Catching sight of the one he was looking for, Varian pulled the tarp off of the fairly sizeable shape, revealing one of his latest inventions underneath.

  
“Maybe this will do, huh boy?” Varian asked Ruddiger, who cocked his head to the side in confusion as he looked at the invention. It looked almost like a miniaturized carriage, but instead of having a horse or a pony hooked up to it for the motor power, there was instead some sort of spindly thing on more wheels, with a seat and pedals. Ruddiger couldn’t make either heads or tails out of it, but he figured all those wheels and gears were a good sign that it would do the job, so he gave a small coo of approval.

  
“Yeah, I think so too!” Varian replied enthusiastically as he grabbed the handlebars and walked the contraption to the door.

“Oh my!” Varian heard the old lady exclaim once again as he carefully guided his contraption down the small steps leading up to the shed. Luckily, Varian had designed this particular invention to have a very light but sturdy frame, so he was able to get it down on his own without much hassle.  
“What is that!?” the old lady asked in astonishment.

  
“This is…!” Varian began with a classic showman’s tone…and then stopped, and ended up saying rather sheepishly. “…Heh, Actually, you know, I-I haven’t come up with a name for this thing just yet. But I did get the idea from looking at diagrams of rickshaws from East Asia, and then adding a pedal-powered motor device at the front.”

  
“ _You_ made this!?” the lady asked, clearly flabbergasted.

  
“Oh yeah,” Varian replied nonchalantly. “Just something I whipped up a few weeks ago while I was studying Newton’s laws of motion.”

  
“What a minute…” the lady said, looking thoughtful for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh, of course! Old Corona! The castle! Miraculous inventions! You must be that wizard boy I’ve heard about! Quirin’s son Varian, yes?”

  
Varian cleared his throat at this, trying to hide his annoyance at being mistaken for a wizard yet again. “Ahem, uh, y-yes, yes I’m Varian. But, uh, I’m an alchemist, not a wizard.”

  
“Oh…” the old lady replied, still looking confused.

  
“Easy mistake I know,” Varian continued. “But technically it’s not magic. It’s science.”

  
“Oh,” the old lady repeated thoughtfully, then asked, “…Is there much of a difference?”

  
“Uh, _YES_!” Varian answered, quickly catching his almost rude tone spurred on by his passion for the subject of science. “Ahem, I mean, yes, yes there is definitely a difference ma’am. You see, science deals with hard evidence and laws about how the world works, while magic is some sort of capricious, undefined force that people make up in fairytales. Not at all scientific.”

  
“Huh…” The old lady paused again thoughtfully. “I suppose that makes sense…Though…”

  
“Though what?” Varian asked.

  
“Though in all the fairytales I’ve heard – and believe me young man, I have heard many a fairytale in my day – it seems like magic does have rules it has to follow. At least, that’s what the legendary Lord Demanitus was said to have told people. That’s what my own great-grandfather told me anyway. And then there’s the dear princess and her magical hair! Why, everyone in the kingdom knows that it magically grew back overnight, and-”

  
“ _And_ ,” Varian interrupted, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the conversation getting more and more steeped in magic, and skating quite close towards something Cassandra had made him promise to not speak to anyone else about. “And I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical, scientific explanation as to why. Anyway, um, sh-should we look to being on our way then?”

  
“Oh, yes of course,” the old lady said, seamlessly moving on to the change of subject as Varian helped her into the small carriage. “I’m so sorry to have taken up your time like this young man.”

  
“No problem,” Varian said over his shoulder as he mounted the wheeled contraption at the front, Ruddiger quickly leaping in to sit next to the lady as Varian began to pull away. “Oh, is it all right if he comes with us?” Varian asked, motioning to Ruddiger.

  
“Oh yes, I don’t mind,” the old lady said, patting Ruddiger’s head and scratching his ears as he set his head onto her lap with a quiet trill.

  
“Ok, well, here we go then,” Varian signaled as he began pedaling down the pathway out of Old Corona, taking care to not go too fast as he navigated between the ruts left in the road from the larger carts.

  
“Amazing…” Varian could hear the lady say under her breath from her seat behind him in the carriage, watching the scenery go by as they headed into the forest. “Just like magic!”

  
Varian rolled his eyes at that remark…but also couldn’t help but feel a warm glow of pride as well at having his invention praised so. _“It’s about time…”_ he thought to himself rather somberly.

  
For the next half hour, Varian and the old lady steadily made their travels to the patch of forest where her cottage was located, and on the way talked about more everyday things (thankfully nothing having to do with magic), and Ruddiger ended up having a nice long nap on the way. Eventually, Varian pulled up to the cottage that the lady had identified as hers, and as Varian helped her back down from the carriage, Ruddiger giving a small purr of delight as the lady gave him a quick scratch under the chin in farewell.

  
“Good-bye Ruddiger!” the lady cooed at him, then turned to Varian. “And thank you Varian! You really are a fine young man! Here, allow me to pay you for-”

  
“Oh, it was no big deal,” Varian replied bashfully, waving his hand in dismissal at the idea of receiving any payment. “I’m just glad I was able to help you out Miss…” Varian suddenly realized he had never asked for the old lady’s name, but she complied to answer his unspoken query.

  
“Ethel,” she replied. “Ethel Schmitz.”

  
“Well, it was nice to have met you Ms. Schmitz,” Varian said, shaking Ethel’s hand.

  
“And you too Varian,” Ethel replied. And then added, “Your father must be so proud of you.”

  
It took all of Varian’s efforts to not let his countenance fall at these words. Instead he managed to respond with a stuttering, “Uh, y-yeah, um, thank you,” and turned back to get onto his contraption and head home before more could be said on the matter.

  
“You take care now dear!” Varian heard Ms. Schmitz call to him from her cottage door. “Thank you! You, too!” Varian called back with a wave over his shoulder, hearing the door to the cottage shut behind him as Ruddiger settled back down onto the cushion of the carriage, ready to enjoy another ride on the way back home as Varian pedaled his way underneath the emerald canopy of trees.

  
“Yeah, someday…” Varian muttered to himself out loud as he went, his thoughts not helping but turning to what Ethel had just said to him. “Someday dad, I will make you proud…”


	8. Meeting Ruddiger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While it still has not been confirmed in “Tangled: The Series” exactly how Varian got Ruddiger as his pet, I thought to do a little drabble on the subject anyway for funzies! :D
> 
> Just a few quick notes:
> 
> \- First and foremost - as a quick PSA for this drabble - this is a work of fiction, and thus I do NOT recommend handling a wildlife rescue as Varian does in this story! While it works out ok for the world of the story, there are definitely many concerns for a real-life animal rescue that are crucial to factor in when carrying out a rescue in our world, which are not addressed directly in this work. If you happen to be a kid reading this, I would definitely say that if you find a wild animal in trouble, go find an adult who can help you with the rescue, and don’t try to touch or handle any animals you don’t know. For either adults or children who find a wild animal in trouble, it’s good to know what sorts of wildlife rescue centers or agencies you can call in your area to help with the animal rescue. Check for any phone numbers you could call or other resources for finding out how to properly handle a wildlife rescue in your area.
> 
> \- While it neither confirms nor denies in “What the Hair!?” that Varian and Ruddiger already know each other, I’d like to think that they do, going by how Ruddiger keeps on coming back and how Varian handles him and talks to him. (As if to say, “No not right now buddy! I have guests! Just…wait out there for a minute, ok?”) And the fact that Varian frees Ruddiger almost immediately after his getting caught in the trap, and then only remembers to free Rapunzel and Cass after Cass is like, “Um, hey, kid! Could you maybe get us out of this mess now, please?” Like, it’s a bit odd when you think about it, unless Varian already knew Ruddiger and just immediately wanted to get his friend out of said sticky situation. Idk, I could just be overanalyzing it. xP
> 
> \- I thought it was interesting how Varian put such an emphasis on his critter traps being humane when he told Rapunzel and Cass about them. Given his apparent hemophobia (fear of blood), I imagined then that he made it a point to make humane critter traps after finding Ruddiger caught in a…less friendly one, and thus had the inspiration to make the traps that we see play out in the episode.
> 
> Anywho, hope you all enjoy this little ficlet!

* * *

 

It was a sound Varian would not soon forget.

  
Varian sat up in bed quickly, heart pounding hard in his chest as his ears picked up on the shrill, screeching, panicked cry that came from outside. As it was the middle of summertime, and Varian had left the window to his room open a small ways (as the castle in Old Corona tending to get quite hot and musty at night during this time of year, and the cool evening air made for a more comfortable atmosphere to fall asleep in). Aside from the loud chirpings of the crickets and the occasional howl of the wolves in the nearby woods, nighttime in Old Corona tended to be nearly silent, and so when Varian was not pulling an all-nighter in his lab working on some sort of alchemical project, he usually had little trouble falling asleep once his head hit the pillows.

  
But on this night, Varian was harshly pulled back out of the dream world and into the waking one by the terrible, horrible sound of a creature in distress. Blinking hard in the dark, his eyes working to clear themselves of sleep, Varian stumbled his way to the window, hearing more of the cries and whimperings coming from somewhere in the darkness beyond as he peered outside. Varian almost wanted to immediately shut his window tight and plug his ears to the sound, dreading to think of what could possibly be happening to the creature to elicit such horrible noises from it. But a stronger, braver part of Varian pushed such an idea away, and instead the young alchemist soon found himself feeling around in the dark for his boots, shoving them on quickly, thrusting on his thick gloves, grabbing a vial of bioluminescent algae (which he kept in the drawer of his nightstand), and snuck his way out of the castle (so as not to disturb his still sleeping father) and out into the night.

  
While the creature’s cries weren’t quite so loud now, Varian still had no problem pinpointing its location. Shaking his vial a bit so that it glowed more brightly, Varian slowly began to approach the line of shrubbery by the Werner’s garden where the sounds were coming from. The branches of the bushes twitched and moved in the light of the algae, indicating a struggle happening in the shade of their leaves. As Varian got closer, he could hear the creature’s cries begin to increase in volume again, the frightened animal catching sight of Varian’s approaching form out of the darkness, and the eerie green glow of the algae vial he carried.

  
“Shhh! It’s ok, it’s ok,” Varian whispered to it as he came closer, Varian holding the vial up high with one hand as he parted the branches of the bushes with his other hand. “I’m not going to hurt you. Easy now. Everything’s going to be ok. You’re going to be just-”

  
Varian found his voice catching in his throat at what he saw. What he saw was a young raccoon, struggling hard to free itself from what looked like a miniature bear trap, one of its hind legs caught between the serrated jaws of the horrid device, and obviously getting more and more torn up as the animal continued to struggle against it. Varian felt like he was going to be sick, for he was of the squeamish sort and had a deep fear of blood. He also felt staggered, as he couldn’t believe that the Werner’s would set such a horrible trap! Old Corona had had a critter problem for a while now, true, and Mr. Werner had been particularly vocal about how something needed to be done to stop any wild animals from further helping themselves to the farmers’ crops. But _this_!? Surely there must be a better way to go about the problem, and without bloodshed-!

  
But Varian was snapped out of his stricken thoughts as the raccoon now dared to let out a hiss at him, the creature’s fur standing up on end and its ears pinning flat back against its skull as it attempted to frighten away the new threat. But instead of being frightened, Varian’s heart broke for the little critter, and despite his fear of blood, his compassion for the animal became stronger than his fear.  
He knew he had to try to help.

  
“Hey, hey now little guy,” Varian cooed at the creature, gently pulling back more of the branches as he did so. The raccoon tried to back away further, hissing again, but his trapped leg kept him pinned to the spot. “Shhh! It’s ok, it’s ok,” Varian kept saying, really hoping that the nocturnal beast believed his words (for its expression and mannerisms made it obvious that it – like many animals of that world – understood what he was saying). The poor thing gave another sharp cry as it attempted to frantically jerk itself away.

  
“Ah ah ah, no, don’t do that!” Varian tried again, slowly extending a gloved hand towards the quivering raccoon, pausing a few inches away from it. “Just take it easy, ok? See? I don’t want to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

  
The raccoon’s eyes darted between Varian’s hand and his face a few times, the creature’s breathes running fast and shallow as it did so. But it had stopped thrashing about now, which Varian took to be a good sign. Varian held his position for several moments, hand extended, patiently sitting back on his heels as he waited for the raccoon to calm down before he made any further attempts to touch it. After a while, the raccoon finally brought its head forward slowly, flinching a little only as Varian involuntarily twitched at the feeling of the raccoon touching him. But soon enough, the raccoon began nosing along the boy’s fingers and palm, until finally nudging his head underneath Varian’s hand, now clearing asking for the boy’s help.

  
Varian let out a relieved, shaky breath at this, only now realizing he had been holding it.

  
“There’s a good fella,” Varian said softly as he carefully made his way further into the foliage, setting the vial of glowing algae in the crook of one of the branches as he made to get a closer look at the trap that held the raccoon captive. Fortunately, while it was indeed a miniaturized version of a bear trap, the trap’s serrated edge did not sport spikes nearly as lethal as those of a proper bear trap (even when taking proportionality into account). While such a trap was still indeed repulsive to Varian, he also knew that it could’ve been a lot worse. While it obviously did some significant scratching and bruising, it did not appear to have broken or shattered any of the bones in the raccoon’s leg, though cracks and hairline fractures could still be a possibility.

  
“Ok,” Varian said to the raccoon as he now brought both hands forward, gently taking the creature by the scruff with one hand, and with the other activating the release mechanism on the trap. As the trap clicked open, Varian carefully lifted the little creature up and out from between the branches of the bush, and made sure to deactivate the trap after he had done so. (He didn’t want to risk any other creatures getting caught in such a thing before he could properly dispose of it later.)

  
“There! Now that should- Whoa, whoa! Hey! Stop!” Varian cried out as the raccoon had begun thrashing about again in his grip, its paws flailing about in midair as Varian kept his grip on its scruff. “Just-just hold still for a second! We need to- Ow!” Varian yelped as the raccoon nipped at him, though fortunately its teeth did not actually puncture through to Varian’s skin, as his gloves were too thick for that. “Hey, look, I’m sorry, alright? But you’re hurt! We need to take a look at that leg of yours first before you can go anywhere! Ok?”

  
Again, it seemed to take a while before the raccoon registered what Varian was saying to him. But after Varian held him steady for a few seconds, the animal finally seemed to relent, and Varian was allowed to pick him up and hold him in the crook of one of his arms. The raccoon flinched and cried out as his injured leg bumped up against Varian’s arm.

  
“Sorry, sorry,” Varian whispered down at it, his free hand grabbing the algae vial from the bushes, and then Varian turned to head back to the castle. “Ok, now let’s see what we can do about that leg of yours.”

* * *

By this point in time, while Varian did most of his work in his lab, it was also not unusual for Quirin to come into the kitchen some days to find his son up to some sort of odd project in there – either involving cooking, baking, alchemy, or perhaps even a combination of them. But when Quirin came in that morning, he certainly did not expect to find Varian already sitting there, slumped over the kitchen table, apparently asleep, and with an odd assortment of objects strewn about him.

  
Quirin raised his eyebrows as he scanned the sight before him. On the table was a clean towel with a bowl and several rolls of bandages sitting next to it. There also seemed to be a few vials of some sort clustered nearby as well, and – judging by the slight tangy smell in the air – one of the class containers appeared to hold some sort of cleaning solution that Varian must’ve used to wipe off the table some time before.

  
_“What in the world?”_ Quirin thought to himself, scratching his head at the scene before him.

  
Then, a flare of familiarity went up in Quirin’s mind. The setup looked almost like how it did whenever Quirin or Varian needed to tend to some sort of abrasion (which was also not an unusual occurrence given how accident-prone Varian was with his experiments)! This idea frightened Quirin for a moment (dreading to think that Varian once again had pulled an all-nighter against his father’s wishes and had hurt himself as a result), but just as he was about to rush to Varian’s side to see if his son had somehow indeed hurt himself last night, Quirin found himself freezing as his ears picked up a soft sound coming from his left. Quirin’s head whipped around, and his eyes met those of a small, furry, masked face peering back at him.

  
A small, surprised noise escaped Quirin’s throat as the raccoon looked back at him, both of them standing nearly still as stone as they stared at one another. In its paws, the little raccoon held what remained of a small crust of soggy bread. Quirin had once heard about raccoons sometimes dipping their food into water, but he was never sure if they actually did that. Well, apparently they did, and the raccoon had left a trail of water from the sink and across the counter where he now perched himself – his cheeks puffed out full of the doughy goodness as he stopped chewing to look back at Quirin’s dumbfounded expression.

  
Just then, before Quirin could even attempt to catch or chase away the little animal, Varian shifted in his chair, taking in a deep breath and letting out a drowsy moan as he began to wake up. Upon hearing Varian stir, the raccoon immediately let go of the soggy piece of bread he had been eating, and dropped himself carefully down onto the floor. Quirin now noticed the raccoon waddled with a slight limp, and saw the flash of clean white wrappings around one of its back legs as it made its way over to Varian’s chair. Quirin almost called out – either to stop the creature from getting any closer to his son, or else alert Varian to its presence – but he just managed to stop his voice in his throat as he saw the raccoon begin to paw at Varian’s leg expectantly, and letting out little happy trills as Varian turned to look down at him, rubbing his eyes as his brain cleared.

  
“Oh, hey there boy,” Varian greeted the little creature, gently picked him up and set him in his lap – the whole time not noticing his father standing perfectly quiet a few feet directly behind him, as he watched the whole thing with wide, wondering eyes. Quirin nearly did think to alert Varian to his own presence, but something restrained him as he watched his son give the little raccoon a few scratches underneath its chin, and the raccoon leaning into it happily.

  
“Hmm…” Varian hummed thoughtfully after a moment, bringing a gloved hand to his chin as he looked out the window of the kitchen, the sky beyond it beginning to turn light blues and pinks and golds as dawn began to break. “Uh oh! Looks like I must’ve dozed off! Oh man! Listen, my dad’s going to be up soon, and-and I don’t want him to come down and see-”

  
But Varian’s thoughts were interrupted as the little raccoon pulled itself up onto the table, and began nosing at another object sitting there that Quirin hadn’t taken much notice of before. It was a syringe (though not one with a needle on the end), and it appeared to be filled with some sort of white substance that the raccoon seemed to be trying to get at.

  
“Oh, hey now,” Varian said to it, grabbing the syringe away. “Is someone hungry for breakfast?”

  
The little raccoon nodded earnestly, and it was all Quirin could do to not move a muscle as Varian first looked out the window again, and then turned his head the other way, as if listening for his father’s approaching footsteps (though still not catching sight of his dad behind him). When he didn’t hear anything, Varian whispered to the raccoon. “Ok, but real quick ok? Then I got to get you down to the lab before Dad wakes up, alright?”

  
The little raccoon butted his head into Varian’s chin cheerfully in response, Varian giggling softly in response. Varian then picked the raccon up gently, setting him in the crook of his arm, and began to feed him whatever formula he had in the syringe, still unaware of the fatherly eyes watching him from behind. The little raccoon eagerly placed its paws on either side of the syringe, and gulped down the formula in hurried swallows as Varian squirted it out gradually.

  
“Ah ah, hey, hey, slow down now you big glutton!” Varian tutted to it gently. “You’ll give yourself horrible gas if you go that fast, and I don’t want to have you stinking up the lab later.” Then, as if right on cue, the raccoon pulled its mouth away from the syringe to let out a small burp, and formula dripped onto and down its face as it did so.

  
“Ugh, see? Gross!” Varian muttered, swapping the syringe for a clean handkerchief as he wiped the critter’s furry little face. “Seriously, you better not make any big messes while you’re here or I’ll _really_ catch it from Dad!”

  
Despite Varian scolding the little creature, Quirin could hear there being a fondness in his son’s voice too as he continued to fuss over the little animal. Quirin bit his lower lip, feeling a warm glow blossom in his heart as he watched his son literally nurse this little raccoon back to health.

  
…And also an apprehension of wondering what he _ought_ to do now. He didn’t want to frighten Varian with his sudden presence – nor disturb the tender scene before him – but it was only a matter of time before Varian turned around and saw him anyway.

  
_What should he do?_

  
“Ok,” Varian finally said after giving the raccoon another helping of the formula. “Now, we have to work quick, alright? Just sit there for a second while I clean all this up, ok?”

  
Obediently, the raccoon sat itself down on the towel that Varian placed him on, and this was also when Quirin took his chance of escape! As Varian went to push his chair back, Quirin quickly stepped back and to the side of the kitchen doorway, the noise of the chair’s legs scraping against the stone floor making just enough noise to cover any sound Quirin’s boots would’ve made as he dodged his way back and out of sight (his old skills in stealth returning to him for a brief moment…). Now that he was out of Varian’s line of sight once again, Quirin carefully made to sidle his way back up the stairs as Varian also attempted to carry out his own secret mission as silently as possible. The oddness of the situation was so unlike anything Quirin had ever experienced that he couldn’t help but smile to himself, amused, as both father and son worked to tip-toe around each other for almost comical reasons.

  
Finally, Quirin was able to get himself far enough up the stairs to where he couldn’t be seen, and soon enough he heard Varian’s quiet footsteps slowly make their way to the door to his lab, and the large door opening and closing with a few clicks and creaks.

  
Then, silence.

  
For a moment, Quirin sat down on one of the stairs, playing over again in his mind what he had just witnessed that morning from his son. He knew a good father would probably discipline their son for taking in a wild animal when they clearly weren’t supposed to, but after watching a scene like that, Quirin knew he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Not harshly anyway. Sure, at some point he would have to let Varian know that he did indeed know about the raccoon as well (because yes, Quirin couldn’t just let it slip by that Varian was trying to keep secrets from him like that…not that he was any better…but this was different, his mind insisted…), but how could he possibly reprimand Varian now for doing what he did for the little creature? That was something rather to be admired, surely? True, he would’ve much preferred it if Varian had gone to him to also help with the raccoon, but his son did do the right thing in caring for the injured animal. And the way the little creature had looked at him…It was definitely the look of someone who was looking at their hero.

  
And it made Quirin _proud_.

  
With a deep sigh, Quirin rose to his feet again, and made his way back down the stairs to the kitchen for his own breakfast, the light of dawn now fully streaming in through the windows of their little castle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Ending Note: As I was in the middle of writing this piece it did occur to me that perhaps it would’ve been more logical and likely for Varian to have taken Ruddiger immediately into his lab to care for him as opposed to tending to his wounds in the kitchen. (Would’ve been more secretive and hygienic that way to be sure. xP) But I really wanted the story to involve Quirin witnessing Varian’s taking care of the raccoon (soon to be named Ruddiger), and I figured the kitchen setting would be more likely for that kind of encounter instead of down in Varian’s lab. Anyway, if there happened to be any question on that, that’s the reason why Varian and Ruddiger were in the kitchen to start with as opposed to Varian’s lab to begin with.


	9. Varian Meeting Adira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat of a speculation piece for later on in season 02 of TTS/RTA. I really do want Varian and Adira to meet at some point, so I thought as a quick exercise I would write about a possible first meeting between them. Just something short and sweet. Hope y’all like it! Can’t wait until our li’l boi actually shows up again in the series!

* * *

 

Varian hardly flinched as he heard the door to his cell unlock with a sharp click, and then open slowly with a deep, metallic groan. Varian continued lay despondent on his cot to the side of the room, facing the wall so he didn’t have to look at whomever was entering. Ruddiger, however, was much more curious, and Varian could feel his little friend uncurl himself from next to Varian’s chest and peer over his shoulder to see who was coming in.

Varian heard the voice of the Captain clear his throat behind him. “Ahem, uh, Varian?”

Varian didn’t move; merely continuing to stare at the stone bricks in front of his face.

“There’s…someone here to see you.”

Varian gave the slightest turn of his head at this, raising an eyebrow in some confusion. He hadn’t had any visitors since his arrest (not even any of the townsfolk from Old Corona - his old neighbors - came to see him), and the only times he had seen anyone other than the guards was when they had him working in other parts of the castle, or during his hearing the other week. But any such encounters with others had hardly been pleasant ones, and it wasn’t like the others ever wanted to see him. Who could possibly have wanted to go out of their way to see him now?

Varian sincerely hoped it wasn’t the queen. Against his better judgment, Varian had had a hard time looking the queen in the face whenever he encountered her since the day of the battle, and he dreaded the idea of being forced to have a one-on-one conversation with her. But as Varian heard the footfalls of the visitor come into the cell after the Captain, Varian could immediately tell by their sound that they were not the queen’s. They sounded much softer for one thing - lacking the distinct “ _clack clack clack_ ” that the queen’s heels made on the stone floors of the castle. Yet despite their softness, Varian could also hear that they also belonged to someone of a larger and sturdier frame than the queen. Nobody that Varian could think of off the top of his head seemed to fit this description. Who the heck could it be?

Finally, Varian couldn’t help but feel a whole other round of confusion (and curiosity) at this, and finally relented, begrudgingly rolling over to see who it was and propping himself up on his elbows as he did so. Upon catching sight of the mysterious visitor, Varian couldn’t help but blink up at her in wide-eyed surprise (and a good dose of apprehension) as he quickly sat up in alarm. Varian wasn’t sure exactly what sort of person he had expected to see, but he certainly wasn’t expecting _this_!

The mystery visitor was a very tall lady, with pure white hair that was tied back firmly into a thick cluster behind her head, and she wore very flashy yet very comfortable looking combat robes. She also wore bright red warpaint on the entire left side of her face (the sight of which had made Varian’s heart skip a beat for a moment when upon first glance he thought it to be blood from some sort of injury). Varian looked her up and down as she too continued to look at him, her expression neutral and hard to read as she towered over him.

Varian didn’t like this at all.

“Wh-who are you!?” Varian demanded, wrapping his arms around Ruddiger as he pulled his companion into his lap. But the lady didn’t answer, merely continuing to look down at Varian as if studying him, with her hands clasped professionally behind her back.

“What do you want?” Varian tried again, angry at the idea of being ignored again, even by someone so intimidating as this mystery lady. But again, only silence followed as the lady took a few steps closer, Varian pushing himself back in response until he was pressed up against the cell wall, and the lady kneeling down so that she was now eye-level with him. Though now a bit frightened, Varian managed to hold his gaze with hers - bright blue meeting deep brown - and Ruddiger looking nervously back and forth between the two of them.

Finally, something inside of the woman seemed to give way, and her expression turned to a sad sort of fondness and she finally said, “Hello Varian. It’s been a long time hasn’t it kid?”

Varian’s eyebrows scrunched together in utter confusion, his mind quickly sifting through his memories, but coming up blank. Varian shook his head. “Wha- what are you talking about?” he exclaimed. “I’ve never seen you before in my life!”

“It’s ok that you don’t remember,” the mystery lady continued to say. “You were only a little baby after all.”

Varian shook his head again in disbelief, giving a glance over at the Captain as if to say with his eyes, _“Hey! A little help over here!?”_ But the Captain only looked back at him, just as confused as Varian was. _“Some help you are,”_ Varian thought in frustration as he turned his attention back to the lady.

“My name is Adira,” the lady finally said with a court nod, “and I am a friend of your father’s.”

Varian’s eyes went wide at these words, and he felt as if time stood still for a moment as he processed these words. “Wait, y- _you_!? You knew my-!?”

Adira held up a hand for Varian to be silent. “I’m here to help you Varian,” Adira continued to say. “You have a lot of big things ahead of you after all, and I promised Quirin I would look after you.”

**_Promise._ **

Varian felt both fear and a kind of frustration rise inside of him now. He hugged Ruddiger a little closer as he frowned hard back at Adira. “What are you talking about? And how do I know you’re telling the truth? I don’t even know you! What could you possibly-?”

Varian’s voice caught in his throat as Adira held up her right hand with the back of it facing him. Varian gasped as he saw the mark emblazoned there.

It was the same mark that was on his father’s old trunk - the one where he found the scroll!

“Believe me Varian,” Adira said firmly but calmly, Varian looking back at her in astonishment. “I am a friend, and I am here to help. The question is, will you let me help you?”


	10. Ruddiger Goes Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this drabble as my contribution to the "angst" and "fluff" weeks in the TTS/RTA fandom on Tumblr and the Discord. (It ended up being for both as it turned out to be flangst.) It's meant to take place after the events of TTS/RTA, and in the royal alchemist AU. Enjoy!

* * *

 

Varian was getting worried.

Ruddiger had been gone for several days now, and Varian had no idea where he was.

Of course, it was not at all unusal for the little guy to go off and do his own thing from time to time. While he was basically Varian’s pet, Ruddiger was also a free creature, and Varian allowed him to come and go as he pleased. But even then, Ruddiger didn’t usually stray too far for too long (especially after all that happened on that terrible day several years ago…). Thus such a long absence now was very disconcerting to the alchemist.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Varian tried to reassure himself as the sun set for a third time since he’d last seen his fluffy, masked friend, and Varian tried to distract his worried mind by mixing one last elixir for the day. “He’s fine…He _has_ to be.”

* * *

 

It had been two weeks.

“How’s this look?” Varian asked hurriedly to Cass as he held up the latest sketch he’d done for the “missing” posters that they were to be put up around town and in the neighboring villages. Cass gently took the sketch from Varian, giving it a look over as she brought a throughtful finger up to her chin. “Looks great Varian. Very accurate. But…you don’t actually have 100 crowns to give as a reward, do you?”

“Wait, what!?” Varian exclaimed, swiping back the poster from Cass, and then quickly reworking the number. “Wow, thanks for catching that Cass,” he said as Cass responded with a quick, “Yeah, well, we don’t want the awkwardness of anyone bringing Ruddiger back and finding out that you can’t actually-”

“Here we go! That’s more like it!” Varian quickly interrupted as he shoved the sketch back into Cass’s hands. “Now, if you could run this over to the printer’s and get about, oh, five hundred copies or so, that would be a big help!”

“Five _hundred_!?” Cass exclaimed. “Wait! Are you _crazy_? How am I supposed to carry five hundred-?”

“Thanks Cass, you’re the best!” Varian shouted over his shoulder as he dashed out the door, slinging a pack over his shoulder and grabbing a map and book of zoology off the shelf as he made to scour the woods yet again for any signs of his missing friend.

Cass shook her head as she watched him leave, and gave a deep sigh of irritation (though also with a good hint of pity in it too) as she looked at the crinkled poster sketch in her hands. The reward number had been changed to 1,000 crowns.

* * *

 

It had been three weeks.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Varian growled to himself through gritted teeth as he knocked on the heavy oak door. After hearing a gruff, “Come in or stay out, I don’t care,” from the other side, Varian pushed his way into the lodge, and immediately cringed as about five big hounds came bounding up to him, all barking loudly and trying to sniff at his pants and jump up to lick his face as he shut the door behind him.

“Oi!” the big man sitting at the wood table by the fireplace called out to his dogs. “Pipe down you miserable mutts! And get back over here!”

Despite the man’s harsh tone, Varian could tell by the condition that the dogs were in, and by the way that they happily responded to their master’s voice, that the man loved them very much and took very good care of them. After the dogs’ barkings, jumpings, and scamperings had settled down, the man finally said, “Well, what do you want stranger?”

Swallowing hard, Varian made his way forward towards one of the empty seats by the fireplace. As he went, Varian couldn’t help but scan the environment around him with his eyes. Though the lodge was quite clean – and even had a hint of pine in the air – the alchemist didn’t feel entirely comfortable there, what with all the bear and goatskin rugs strewn about the floor, and the blank animals eyes that stared back out at him from the various taxiderm heads that were mounted to the walls. Varian shuddered hard when he caught sight of a coonskin cap that was hung up on a coatrack made from deer antlers…but he forced himself to continue on, and began to present his proposition to the old hunter as he took his seat by the fireside.

“I-I want you to track an animal for me,” Varian said, trying his hardest to sound very assured and grown up. The man responded with a lazy swig from his flask before asking his own questions.

“And what sort of animal are we talkin’ about here son?” the old hunter asked. “If it’s any of them white stags, chimeras, or _unicorns_ from your picture books,” here the man gave a dismissive huff of disbelief. “I’d suggest you look elsewhere.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Varian retorted, earning a raised eyebrow from the hunter. “I’m serious. I need you to track a raccoon for me.”

“Hmm,” the hunter hummed to himself as he took another swig. “A raccoon, eh? Certainly doable. And what would someone such as yourself want a raccoon skin for?”

“N-NO, not the skin!” Varian nearly shouted. “ _Absolutely_ not! In fact, you’re not to hurt him _at all_ , do you understand? I just need you to find him, and then bring him back to me – _alive_ – if he’ll go with you. Otherwise, just let me know where you find him, and I’ll go get him. Either way, you’ll get paid.”

The man’s eyes narrowed inquisitively. “So, it’s a lost _pet_ you’re asking me to find.”

“His name is Ruddiger,” Varian carried on insistently, ignoring the man’s eyeroll as Varian placed one of the “missing” posters on the table and slid it the man’s way. “He looks like this. He’s about yeh big.” Here Varian gentured with his hands to give an approximation of Ruddiger’s last known size. “And he loves apples. Oh, and he responds well to human speech, so as long as you don’t scare him, he may be willing to show himself to you if you call him. Especially if you let him know I asked you to find him. And he’s-”

“Look, kid,” the man now said as he set down his flask and prinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes in clear irritation. “I’m sorry, but I’m not about to go traipsing around the woods wavin’ apples about and calling out to a raccoon like I would one of my own dogs.”

“I’m not asking you to traipse around!” Varian snapped. “I’m asking you to _track_ him. I thought you were supposed to be good at that sort of thing, or was that all just talk?”

“Watch your mouth youngster!” the man growled back, though Varian only replied with crossing his arms and giving a small smirk in challenge. This hadn’t been the first time Varian’d faced a grumpy adult within the last few years, and such a mild snapping didn’t shake him. Not anymore. “I’ll have you know I’m the best trapper and hunter this side of Vardaros!”

“Then this job should hardly be a problem for you, right?” Varian asked.

“Oh, I can track a raccoon all right,” the man continued. “Nothing hard about that. But to track a _specific_ one? You do realize they all look the same.”

“No they don’t,” Varian replied, and would’ve gone on about how distinct and special Ruddiger was, but obviously the man didn’t want to hear any of it.

“And anyway, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve got a livin’ to make. I can’t go wasting my time lookin’ for lost animals that I may not even find when there are animals that I can hunt that I _know_ I can find.”

“I can pay you even if you don’t find him,” Varian said, taking a pouch of money from his pack and placing it down on the table, making sure the coins clinked together loudly as he did so. “Here, look. Consider this my downpayment. You’ll get even more if you do find him, but even if you don’t, this should still be enough to equal an actual hunting job, right?”

Now the hunter raised his eyebrows a little, and with a quick glance at Varian he took the pouch from him, and peeked inside. His eyebrows went a little higher.

“…You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” the man finally asked, casting a quick upwards look at Varian. Varian nodded earnestly in reply. Tentatively, the hunter removed one of the coins from the pouch, looked it over, and after giving it a quick bite between his teeth to check its authenticity, he then placed it back in with the others and set the pouch beside him on the table.

“For this pay, I can go looking for him for two days.”

Varian let out his breath at this; just now realizing he had been holding it. “Thank you,” Varian managed to say evenly. “But remember, absolutely _no_ hurting or killing him! Or you _will_ be sorry!”

“Contrary to popular depiction kid,” the man now said tersely, “hunters are not all brutal animal killers. While I may have crafted my skills for hunting, I also craft my mind and soul to see the world through the eyes whose fire I put out when I take their life. When I hunt, I remember every single one of them that I take in season, and make sure to take no more than I know Mother Nature can restore. So don’t go talking to me like I’m some sort of trigger-happy monster that needs talking down. The job was to _track_ the animal, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Varian fell silent and blinked a few times at this, and felt perhaps a little ashamed. He certainly didn’t expect that kind of response from the old man.

“Oh, uh, well,” Varian now stammered as he made to rise and leave the lodge, suddenly feeling like it was all becoming a bit too cramped for him. “Th-thank you for, er, for your help. I won’t keep you any longer. Just…let me know if you find anything.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” the man muttered over his shoulder, again resuming his former demeanor as he held up the “missing” poster to the firelight, reading over it carefully as downed a few more sips from his flask, and Varian shuffled his way out of the cabin quickly and hurried on back to the castle.

* * *

 

Five weeks.

It had been five weeks since Varian had last seen Ruddiger, and while the huntsman – whom Varian later learned to be named Eli – had tracked down several raccoons in the area over the two day period they had agreed upon the other week, none of them turned out to be Ruddiger upon further investigation.

“Right sorry I’m sure,” Eli had said as he had given his report to Varian. “Though…I’ll keep my eyes peeled anyway, whenever I’m out in the woods. Just in case.”

Varian thanked Eli again for his efforts and vigilence, and though it was a bit reassuring to know he had another set of keen eyes keeping a lookout for Ruddiger, Varian also couldn’t shake the feeling of despair now beginning to take hold of his heart.

It had been a long time now. Perhaps _far_ too long…and Varian didn’t know what to do now.

“Hey Varian,” Rapunzel’s voice called softly to him as she gently opened the door to his lab, her eyes having to squint hard to find him in the dim light of the room as Varian sat alone in the dark by the window. “We’re all having hot chocolate and bimberry butternuts in the parlor upstairs. Do you want some?”

“No…no thank you,” Varian replied as he continued to stare out the window. Rapunzel knew at once what must’ve been bothering him. It was the one thing had been bothering him for well over the last month now.

“Hey, Varian,” Rapunzel repeated again from earlier as she came up to him, her bare feet padding softly on the stone floor, and she placed a sympethtic hand on his shoulder as she stood by his side. “I…I’m sorry Ruddiger hasn’t been found yet. I know what it’s like to worry about your best friend like that, and…and I would never wish that on anyone. It really is awful.”

There was a moment’s silence as Varian reached up to place a gloved hand over Rapunzel’s, pressing her hand further into his shoulder as if seeking reassurance. Rapunzel squeezed a bit tighter in return. “We’re all here for you though,” she continued. “And we will keep looking. I’m sure we’ll find him sometime soon. I pro-”

Rapunzel quickly cut herself off as she was about to say the last word that she knew Varian needed to hear right now. No. Rapunzel couldn’t promise that they would find Ruddiger. And she couldn’t promise everything would turn out all right. Rapunzel had learned those several years ago that it was better to acknowledge a bad situation for what it was, than to try to fill the void with flowery words only meant to glaze over things or to make empty promises.

“We’ll keep looking,” she ended up repeating again feebly, not sure of what else to say. Varian remained silent, though the way he kept his hand on Rapunzel’s was enough to let her know that his feelings were of gratitude, if only a sad, hurt kind. Finally, Rapunzel gave Varian’s shoulder one last squeeze before moving to pull away. “Well, we’ll be upstairs if you need us,” she said, and made to turn and head back out the door. But as her hand clasped the door handle, she heard Varian call to her softly from behind.

“Princess,” he said…and Rapunzel turned, only to see the young alchemist begin to quiver with soft, hiccupping sobs as he managed to say, “P-please…don’t go! N-not yet!”

“Oh Varian,” Rapunzel whispered as she rushed back over to him, and wrapped Varian into a tight hug as he cried into her shoulder. Rapunzel rubbed comforting circles into his back and stroked his hair with motherly tenderness as he wept.

“I-I don’t know what to do!” Varian said between sobs. “I…I can’t lose him Rapunzel! I can’t! He-he was always there for me! And now, w-what if we don’t find him? What if-what if he never comes back? What if…? What if he’s…? I-I just can’t Rapunzel! I caa-a-a-an’t!”

“I know Varian,” Rapunzel said as some of her own tears fell with his. “I know…”

* * *

 

Exhausted from his cry, Varian now made his way back to his bedchambers, with Rapunzel walking along closely at his side. After bidding each other good night, and Rapunzel checking one more time with Varian that he would be ok for the evening, the young alchemist went into his room, shut the door softly behind him, and then collapsed into a heap on his bed. Varian felt too tired and miserable to try to change into his nightclothes, so instead he just lay there as he waited for sleep to overtake him. He hoped it would come soon.

As Varian lay there in a light doze, he suddenly thought he heard a muffled chittering noise on the edge of his hearing, and if he didn’t know any better, he thought he felt something tickling at his forehead. Varian hoped it wasn’t a moth or some other nocturnal insect come to bother him in his sleep. With an irritated groan, Varian made to bat away at whatever it was that was so insistently brushing against his forehead, and also tried to find a way to rest his head so he didn’t hear those infernal squeaking and cooing noises. ( _“Maybe it’s mice,”_ Varian dreaded to think. _“I hope I don’t have to set up any more goo traps around the castle in the morning.”_ ) But Varian again felt something touch his forehead…though this time it was a bit wet and rough, and stroked across his forehead over and over again in quick succession.

“Ugh! What in the world-?” Varian mumbled grumpily as he again swatted the thing away…only to freeze stock-still and snap his eyes open as he felt his hand come up against a soft but sturdy resistance. It took Varian a few seconds to register what was sitting before him as his eyes adjusted and cleared, but then when he did realize-

“RUDDIGER!” Varian shouted with joy as his face lit up with recognition, and he all but tackled the little creature as he scooped Ruddiger up into his arms with a cry of delight and held him to his chest, feeling Ruddiger nuzzle into him affectionately in return as Varian couldn’t help but plant a few kisses of his own on his friend’s furry forehead.

“Oh my God, Ruddiger!” Varian exclaimed to him between sniffles as he wiped away at his misty eyes. “Where-where have you _been_!? You had me worried _sick_! Wha…Why did you leave for so long without telling me!? I mean, yeah, you can’t exactly _tell_ me, you can’t _talk_! But some sort of signal or something would’ve been nice! Or-or maybe if you’d just popped your head in? Let me know you were ok? Oh, Ruddiger, I thought I’d lost you! Don’t you _ever_ do that to me again, ok!? Don’t you- Oh! But wait, you’re not hurt are you!?” Varian suddenly yelped, holding Ruddiger out at arms-length as he looked him over. “You’re not sick or anything? No one’s hurt you?”

Ruddiger shook his head in reply.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Varian sighed with relief as he brought Ruddiger in close again, stroking his hand down his back and scratchin his ears. “Oh Ruddiger, you had me so scared. I…I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t-”

Suddenly, Varian stopped as he again noticed the faint chittering noise from before, and he looked this way and that about him, trying to pinpoint where exactly the sound was coming from in the dark. “Hey, what is that-?” Varian began to ask, but found that his question was interrupted by Ruddiger giving Varian a few taps on the arm, and then gently wriggling his way out of Varian’s grip and hopping down to the floor before disappearing underneath Varian’s bed.

“Hey, where’re you going Bud?” Varian asked after Ruddiger as he too dropped to the floor and made to peek under the bedskirts, now realizing that the sound was coming from where Ruddiger had disappeared underneath them. At first, Varian couldn’t see a thing in the pitch black darkness, but presently he lit the lamp on his nightstand, and then shuffled out from the drawer one of the vials of glowing algae that he kept at the ready in case of emergencies.

“Ok boy, what’re you-?”

Varian drew in a small gasp and brought his free hand up to his mouth at what he saw huddled underneath his bed. There he saw Ruddiger…along with an adult lady raccoon, and five raccoon kits all clustered together; their bright eyes reflecting green in the light of the algae vial Varian held in front of him.

Varian was dumbstruck as it all began to sink in. “O my gosh, Ruddiger you-!” Varian said with a huff of surprise. “Ha ha! Ruddiger you-you’re a _daddy_!?”

Varian thought he’d never seen Ruddiger look more proud as he nodded to Varian, and Varian now realized that this was why Ruddiger had been away for the last few weeks. And it was only now that his kits had been old enough to make the trek back to the castle from where they must’ve been born in their raccoon nest or burrow! Varian let out a few more gleeful giggles as he looked over the happy family with wide, wondering eyes. After a few moments, the lady raccoon – Ruddiger’s mate – now made to shyly make her way out to him. Varian scooted himself back a little as she came forward, and he could hear the high yelps of protest from the little ones as their mother shuffled her way past them to meet the friend Ruddiger had brought her to meet.

“Hey there girl,” Varian cooed to her gently as he held a hand out to her to sniff. “So _you’re_ the reason why Ruddiger left like that. Oh! Wait! No no, I didn’t mean it like that!” Varian scrambled to explain as he saw Ruddiger’s mate also understood his speech, and apparently took it as him blaming her for his friend’s absence as she drooped her ears and shrunk back a pace or two. “No, it’s ok girl. It’s ok. I was just worried about him that’s all. It’s ok. Don’t be scared. That’s right now…”

After another moment of giving Varian’s hand a good sniff-over, the lady raccoon now made to gently brush herself up against the palm of his hand, and Varian gently stroked across the top of her head in return. “There’s a good girl! Very nice to meet you! Hmm…But I really can’t keep on calling you ‘girl’ can I? No. We _must_ think of a name for you! Hmm, how about-?”

But Varian was again interrupted as Ruddiger came waddling back out from underneat the bed, and Varian saw he carried one of his kits in his mouth as he did so. Then, to Varian’s utter joy and astonishment, Ruddiger brought the kit forward and set it down tenderly in Varian’s lap. Varian’s mouth worked to try to come up with any sort of response to Ruddiger’s profound gesture, but he found he couldn’t speak as the tiny Ruddiger-like face looked back up into his own, and all Varian could do was helplessly melt into those two pools of cuteness that stared back up at him; both a little bit frightened but also extremely curious. They were very intelligent, thoughtful eyes, and Varian’s own never left them as he carefully brought a hand over and stroked his fingers gently across the baby raccoon’s fluffy pelt.

Soon enough, Ruddiger came back with a second kit, and a third, until finally Varian had five happy baby raccoons all nestled in a furry bundle in his lap. Varian stroked, held, and talked in baby talk to each one of them, as Ruddiger’s mate moved to settle herself down with them, and Ruddiger looked on proudly from Varian’s shoulders.

All of a sudden, the whole happy company fell silent and looked up as they heard a knocking on Varian’s door, and it creaked slowly open as the door came unlatched and a tentative voice whispered in.

“Um…Varian?” It was Rapunzel. “Are-are you asleep?”

“No,” Varian squeaked back, earning a puzzled pause from Rapunzel before she took the cue to open the door further.

“Sorry to bother you, but um, Pete said he thought he heard you cry out as he passed by a few minutes ago, and we-”  
Rapunzel – followed in by Eugene, Lance, and Cassandra – stopped dead in her tracks, and the rest of her company did likewise, and their eyes all widening to the size of dinner plates as they now saw Varian sitting crosslegged on the floor, the biggest smile on his face that they’d ever seen on him, and his lap covered with the fluffy shapes that were raccoon babies, and the proud parents also peering from their respective places on his lap and on his shoulders.

“Holy whaa-?” Eugene breathed from where he stared at Rapunzel’s shoulder.

“Aww!” Lance now gushed after getting over the initial surprise. “Look at all those cute little furry babies!”

“Varian?” Cass now finally piped up. “What is-?”

“Ruddiger’s a dad!” Varian exclaimed happily as he sat stroking one of the said babies as he held it to his chest. “Can you believe it!?”

“Yeah, real cute,” Eugene said, still looking a shellshocked. “Um…it just pooped on you.”

“I know~,” Varian said, nuzzling the baby raccoon with his cheek. Varian was on cloud nine right now, and it would take more than a few baby raccoon droppings to bring him back down again.

“Eeeeee! I’m sorry everyone, but I gotta get a closer look at these little guys!” Lance said as he went to sit beside Varian. “Oh, if they aren’t just the cutest things I’ve ever seen~!?”

Soon enough, everyone was seated around Varian and gushing over the latest additions to the castle household, and Varian could hardly have been happier – or more honored – to be sharing this special moment with his best friend as he nuzzled Ruddiger at his shoulder, and Ruddiger stroked a familiar and tender paw across Varian’s cheek in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special shoutout to @coronagoddess (who had the idea on the Discord of Ruddiger putting his kits into Varian’s lap), and to @glowamber (who had the idea of Varian finding Ruddiger under the bed with all his babies)!


	11. "Everyone Has Their Autumn"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the 2018 Tangledtober prompt - "Dream"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some parts of this piece have statements written in italics between parentheses, and these are meant to indicate moments of Varian nearly questioning his subconscious as he’s dreaming, though he doesn’t fully realize that he is indeed dreaming. I know when I dream, things and places will sometimes just change around me for no discernible reason, but when dreaming I often times don’t really question it until either something happens that just really makes me stop and go, “Ok, what the heck?” or when I wake up and think back like, “Oh wait, wow, that was actually weird.” So yeah, I kinda wanted to depict that happening with Varian where things and places around him will just shift as they do in dreams, and that Varian makes a dim note of it being not normal, though his subconscious doesn’t allow him to fully realize it as unusual, so the dream goes on. Hopefully this isn’t too confusing for any readers. I just thought it would help to add a bit of “realism” to a dream sequence, if you will. xP

* * *

 

_“…How the gentle wind_   
_Beckons through the leaves_   
_As autumn colors fall_

  
_Dancing in a swirl of golden memories_   
_The loveliest lies of all…”_

  
~ Into the Unknown, “Over the Garden Wall”

* * *

 

Varian couldn’t have been happier. Everything was _perfect_.

  
The autumn air was cool and fresh from where Varian sat atop the high hill overlooking Old Corona, and Ruddiger’s large presence at his back helped keep him warm and comfortable as he leaned back, utterly relaxed. Right above them gold, red and amber leaves fluttered down lazily in the growing twilight, with some of them alighting gently atop of Ruddiger’s head, muzzle, and broad shoulders as the sleepy beast lay dozing on the grass. Varian smiled, brushing some of the leaves gently off Ruddiger’s coat with one hand, and giving Ruddiger a few fond scratches behind the ears as he did so. Varian could feel the purr rumble through Ruddiger’s chest and throat in response, and the giant raccoon drowsily nudged him back in return.

  
It all made Varian feel so safe, and so at peace as he turned back to look down at the crowd of villagers gathered around a roaring bonfire in the center of Old Corona’s greenspace. These were the days of Old Corona’s annual Harvest Festival, and almost everyone from around the rest of the kingdom came to join in the celebration (for of course Old Corona was the kingdom’s largest supplier of crops and livestock, so it was only natural that they would be the ones to host such an event every year). From where he was, Varian could hear faintly the sounds of the pipes, castanets, drums, and stringed instruments that played for the many dancers that skipped, hopped, and twirled in wide rings around said fire. Among them were Princess Rapunzel herself, Eugene, Lance, and of course all the pub thugs from the Snuggly Duckling. Varian could also see Cassandra sitting off to the side by herself on a haybale, though by the way she tapped her foot and swayed a little in time to the music as she sipped on a glass of apple cider, Varian could tell that she was having a good time as well in her own way, which of course Varian understood well enough himself.

  
For as he had grown up into his teen years, Varian had taken on the attitude that many boys his age did – where he felt himself too cool and too mature to participate in such odd traditions as dancing all silly-like around a bonfire (at least, what he thought to be odd and silly). But while he may not have admitted it to anyone, there was definitely something about the atmosphere of the whole affair that Varian found appealing, and of course he thoroughly enjoyed all the sweet autumn treats that came with it all. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream was his own personal favorite, and Ruddiger always enjoyed a good candy apple at this time of year.

  
Varian couldn’t help but take in a deep, contented breath of crisp fall air as he thought of these things, and tilted his head back to look up at the darkening sky and the stars that began to peep out as the sun’s light retreated westward, glowing a warm orange on the horizon. A ways to the east, Varian could see the crescent shape of the moon begin to emerge as it made to resume its nightly watch over that part of the globe. To the sound of the jubulient festival below and the twilit sky above, Varian felt like this hour marked the epitome of autumn time – feeling somehow slightly melancholic, but also radiating a lot of joy – and he couldn’t help but feel his heart swell at the beauty and mystery of it all.

  
“Hey there Son,” Varian suddenly heard the deep voice of his father greet him as he came from around Ruddiger’s sleeping form. “Mind if I join you?”

  
“Oh, h-hey Dad!” Varian greeted happily in return, and scooted over to make room for his dad to also set himself down against Ruddiger’s furry flank. “Yeah, take a seat!”

  
Several moments of calm silence passed between the two of them as they sat there on the hill together. A couple of times Varian risked a glance over at his dad, to see his eyes were filled with fondness as he looked over the land and the village that was their home. Of course, being the village leader, this was both a very exhausting time of the year for Quirin, but also extremely rewarding. Varian could tell that his dad was very happy with how the harvest had gone this year, and had thoroughly been enjoying the festivities of this year’s celebration.

  
“Sooo…” Varian began awkwardly after a few moments, and moving to adjust the red scarf he had tied around his neck ( _When did he put this on?_ ). “Some night for a party, huh Dad?”

  
“Mm-hmm,” Quirin hummed in agreement as he nodded. “It really is Son. Candy apple?” he asked, handing said treat to Varian who took it happily ( _and not bothering to question how Quirin aquired it when he hadn’t been holding it only seconds ago_ ).

  
“Thanks.”

  
As Varian began munching on his sweet treat, Ruddiger’s nose twitched as he caught the scent of it in the air that brushed passed his muzzle, and soon enough Varian was forced to push and shove away from him a set of large, glistening fangs and a slobbery tongue that flicked outward, trying to swipe at the tasty piece of glazed fruit.

  
“Ha ha ha! No Ruddiger!” Varian scolded his friend. “This one’s not for you-! Gah!” Varian exclaimed as Ruddiger opted for swiping his large tongue across Varian’s face instead. “Augh! Gross! Bad raccoon!” Varian cried as he wiped up Ruddiger’s drool with a handkerchief Dad handed to him, but a smile could also be detected in his voice as he said it, and soon enough Ruddiger had hunkered back down again, and Varian finished the remains of the candy apple ( _Boy, did he finish it off quick._ ).

  
“Hey Varian?” Quirin said as Varian finished his snack…his face turning strangely grave to Varian.

  
“Y-yeah Dad?” Varian asked in return, shivering a little as the sun sank further behind the horizon, and the chilly air of the night began to take hold.

  
Quirin’s brow furrowed, and he sighed deeply, but the brief shadow that appeared across his face was lifted as he now turned his eyes squarely to his son. “Everyone has their autumn, Varian.”

  
A pause followed this statement, with Varian waiting for Quirin to say more. But Varian was forced to blink up at him in puzzlement with Quirin made no effort to say anything further.

  
“…Oh,” Varian finally ventured to say, as Ruddiger now made to crawl into his lap (When did he get so small again?), and Varian leaned back into the hay pile at their backs. “Um…Y-yeah, that’s-that’s very true Dad. Comes every year, right?”

  
“And everyone has their spring.”

  
Varian raised an eyebrow now; very confused. “Um, yup. True again Dad,” he said. “Spring, summer, fall and winter. That’s…kinda normal, right?”

  
Quirin nodded, and gave Varian’s hair a quick ruffle before resuming a reclined position on the bench they were sitting on together, and watched contentedly as the party before them continued, and Varian could now feel the heat of the fire warm him against the cold that began to set in around them ( _When did they get down here from the hill again?_ )

  
Though, despite now being in right among the exuberant atmosphere of the festival, and even having Cassandra right there next to him…Varian suddenly didn’t feel very happy. Something felt off. He blinked up at Cassandra, perplexed at the odd feeling that tugged at his guts as he saw her, and the feeling increased as he watched Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance, and the others continue to dance and play their instruments around the fire, and everyone letting out a loud cheer and applause as the next song ended.

  
But Varian couldn’t cheer. Something was wrong. Not everything was perfect anymore, and while he had some vague sense as to why, he couldn’t quite place it.

  
Varian shivered again as a gentle snow began to come down from the sky, and he had to wipe away at his stinging eyes as he looked over to see his father highlighted in an amber light from the fire beside him.

  
It seemed that a winter for him was now coming. …Or had it already come?

  
Hardly knowing why he did it, Varian snuggled himself into his father’s side, his gloved hands clutching desperately into the furry texture of Quirin’s vest as he buried his face into him – needing to know that he was there, and wanting things to never change from what they were, and to stay the same.

  
“It’s alright Son,” Varian could hear in the air above him. “Just rest now.”

  
And Varian did…with Ruddiger doing his best to keep him lulled in sleep as Varian hugged his furry companion close, and buried his face into his furry coat, with the gentle glow of the harvest moon streaming into his cell from overhead.

  
_“Everyone has their autumn…”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song references for this ficlet:
> 
> "Into the Unknown" from Over the Garden Wall - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12K6ZnPX1gU
> 
> "Harvest Dance" by Mannheim Steamroller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TvkbV8F3PI


	12. Vamparian Ficlet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick ficlet inspired by the Vamparian AU on Tumblr.
> 
> After having contracted vampirism under mysterious circumstances, Varian has been working to find a cure for it through alchemy. Quirin has also been working to help him, and has been working to cover for Varian so that the townsfolk of Old Corona don’t get suspicious or worried about him. But as time has been progressing, Varian has begun to show more and more vampiric behavior, which begins to worry Quirin…

* * *

 

Quirin froze, feeling his heart nearly stop in tandem as he took in the sight before him in Varian’s laboratory.

For a second, Quirin had been rather confused by what he was looking at. For while Varian had been working on further efforts to find a cure for his recent vampirism, Quirin had taken the opportunity to go out to the market and get some food for himself, intending to be out for only a few minutes. But Quirin’s absence from the public eye over the last few days had caused many of the villagers of Old Corona to worry about him, and so Quirin had to take the time to try to allay any fears as he had been accosted multiple times on his errand by well-meaning neighbors.

After finally being able to get back to the house, Quirin immediately went to the lab to check on his son’s progress, expecting to see Varian busy about his alchemical compounds as usual. But when he walked in, the first thing Quirin noticed was a very distinct lack of movement about the place. The second thing he noticed as his eyes scanned around him as the unusual shape of something hanging from the ceiling towards the middle of the chamber - looking like some sort of sack wrapped up in a quilted blanket.

But as he got closer, and his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the lab (for any sunlight had been blocked by heavy tarps on the windows), Quirin gasped and stood still as stone as he realized what it was.

Or rather, _who_ it was.

Quirin could now see that what he was looking at was _Varian_ , who was hanging upside down from the rafters of the lab, with one of his quilted blankets wrapped snuggly around him. Varian didn’t appear to be in any sort of distress at all, but the scene was so unnatural looking that Quirin just stood there for several seconds, not sure at all what to do. Quirin had heard about vampires taking on bat-like behavior (O heaven forbid that Varian also had an ability to fly that he had yet to discover!), but even while being able to place the behavior into that category, it was still very unnerving to see firsthand.

…Especially when Varian was so very still the whole time. While gravity had forced Varian’s mouth open as he hung there, there was no sound of him snoring, nor even any movement or whisper of a breath about him. Quirin could feel his heart turn to water inside of him as he realized Varian was indeed not breathing at all.

…In fact…he appeared to be all but _dead_.

“Aaah!” Quirin suddenly yelped as he felt something unexpectedly brush against his leg, snapping him out of his troubled trance as he stumbled over himself. As Quirin leapt back from a well-meaning but frightened Ruddiger, he backed up into one of Varian’s alchemy tables suddenly, causing the glass vials and instruments upon it to clink and clatter together as he knocked against it. Upon hearing the commotion below him, Varian’s ears twitched and his bright red eyes snapped wide open; completely alert (despite the dark marks that perpetually rested beneath them), and without having to shake off the stupor of drowsiness that most normal human beings had to deal with upon waking.

“Oh! Dad!” Varian called as he detached himself from the ceiling, and alighted gracefully back onto the stone floor of the lab. (On most any other occasion, Quirin would’ve been rather impressed by such a rare display of grace and coordination from his son. But as it was…it only served to impress upon Quirin even further how more and more unnatural things were getting for Varian.) “Are-are you ok Dad?”

“I-I’m fine Son,” Quirin stammered, waving a hand dismissively as Varian reached to grab at one of his arms. But Quirin flinched away from his touch without even thinking, and Varian couldn’t help but step back a pace or two, looking like Quirin’s actions had delivered a sting to his heart.

“Are…are _you_ ok?” Quirin finally asked after a moment’s awkward silence.

“Um, y-yeah,” Varian replied back uncertainly. “Why?”

“Because you were…I mean…” Quirin tried to ask, but he found the words oddly difficult to form, and instead opted for gesturing towards the ceiling instead to convey his thoughts.

“Oh…” Varian replied as his eyes followed Quirin’s gesture. “Yeah, that. I uh…Well, I just needed a bit of a…a bit of a timeout, I guess. Th-that’s all.”

Quirin’s brow furrowed worriedly. “A timeout? So…you were tired?” Quirin attempted to offer helpfully.

Varian paused, appearing to think hard for a moment, then shook his head. “No. I mean, I wasn’t _physically_ tired. I just…I dunno. It-it was another kind of tired I guess.”

“Hmm…” Quirin hummed worriedly as Varian shifted uncomfortably underneath his father’s gaze, his long and pointed ears drooping down in response. Upon seeing this, Quirin forced his countenance to soften, and gently placed a hand on Varian’s shoulder (doing his best to not shudder at how cold and hard it felt underneath his gloved hand).

“C’mon Son,” Quirin finally said. “Let’s get back to work.”


	13. "I Can Bring You Back"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel once again falls into a trance induced by the moon incantation...and it's up to Varian to bring her back out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick ficlet inspired by the events of "Rapunzel and the Great Tree" (SPOILER ALERT FOR THAT EPISODE!) and a piece of TTS/RTA fan art by qu-r on Tumblr.
> 
> Link to fan art reference - https://qu-r.tumblr.com/post/183044858770/p1-rocks-stand-and-endure-let-your-sorrow-free
> 
> Also, moon!Varian AU, because I can't get enough of it. ^^

“Wither and decay,

End this destiny,

Break these earthly chains,

And set the spirit free…”

 

Varian furrowed his brow as he saw her standing there.

 

Rapunzel stood with a slight, sleepy stoop to her shoulders, and her eyes were empty and black as translucent tears streamed down from them uncontrollably. Rapunzel’s hair flowed around her like dark, inky tentacles, and they seemed to be searching for any source of life that they might drain, though their search was by no means in haste. Death felt no need to rush apparently. It could slink about, taking its time. Time didn’t seem to matter much to it. Just so long as it kept moving. Kept spreading.

 

Varian felt himself shudder as the cold darkness spread into the ground beneath his feet, and it took all of his resolve to not flee in terror. He heard the sprinting footsteps of everyone else retreat in the other direction behind him, and he heard the sound of Cassandra’s metallic footfalls falter and stop when she realized they’d left him behind.

 

And Varian wasn’t moving.

 

“VARIAN!” Cassandra screamed at him. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!? GET OUT OF THERE!”

 

But Varian only responded with a quick glance at her over his shoulder, noting the look of panic in her eyes as they met his. And then, he began to walk forward…towards Rapunzel.

 

“Wither and decay…”

 

“NO VARIAN!” Cassandra and Eugene yelled at him, and the others all made distressed gasps of their own as Varian continued to move into the soul-sucking darkness. Cass and Eugene didn’t know what Varian was thinking (Had he gone mad!? Did he have a death wish!? Would he try to hurt Rapunzel a second time!?), and the two of them would’ve gone rushing in to try to grab him and drag him back beyond the range of Rapunzel’s powers, but their attempt was in vain. Almost immediately, the two of them stumbled and fell as they made their way passed the outer line of the dark radius, and they felt the life begin to drain out of them.

 

“End this destiny…”

 

Hearing their cries of distress behind him, Varian paused just long enough to see Lance and Hookfoot manage to drag the two of them back beyond the dark circle of decaying plant matter, and as Varian breathed a sigh of relief at their safety (for the moment), he continued on in his stride, with his coat beginning to billow around him slightly as the thick locks of Rapunzel’s hair brushed against him like curious animals sniffing about for prey.

 

“Break these earthly chains…”

 

Varian tried hard to concentrate as he could feel his steps slowing as he drew nearer. He may have had protection from death for the moment (at least, so he’d been told), but he knew it wouldn’t last long. Varian could hear more gasps from his comrades behind him as his hair began to glow a similar dull blue to that which flowed along the strands of Rapunzel’s own, with the most prominent blue streak in his hair growing the brightest the most quickly. A moment later, his whole head was crowned in a silvery white, and his eyes went bright and blank as Rapunzel’s hair curled loosely around his form, searching for any chink in the equal-and-opposite magic protecting him. He drew nearer still.

 

“And set the spirit free…”

 

At last, Varian came to stop right in front of Rapunzel, and while she appeared to be looking right at him – her pitch black eyes meeting his pale white ones – it also seemed like she didn’t actually _see_ him. She only continued to stand there, with her arms hanging loosely at her sides, and the tears still streaming down her face unheeded.

 

“Wither and decay,

End this destiny,

Break these earthly chains,

And set the spirit free…”

 

Again Rapunzel repeated that verse, though now instead of singing it in melancholy melody, she was now just chanting it over and over and over again.

 

She couldn’t stop.

 

“Wither and decay,

End this destiny,

Break these earthly chains,

And set the spirit free…”

 

“Wither and de- Ah!”

 

Rapunzel started back as she felt Varian’s touch on her left hand. Varian couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief as his gloved right hand remained in tact upon clasping hers gently. While he did feel a chill go into his palm and fingers – like his hand had been plunged into a bucket of ice water – it did not burn, wither or spasm. Rapunzel blinked down at him, though her eyelids fluttered over what were still the deep, dark voids that were lost and confused.

 

“…V-Varian!?” Rapunzel cried in a frightened tone as reality suddenly began to crash in on her. Varian swallowed hard.

 

“H-hello Rapunzel,” Varian nearly whispered as he pushed passed the hoarseness in his throat. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be all-”

 

“Wither and decay…”

 

Now it was Varian who started back a little (though still keeping a hold of Rapunzel’s hand), as Rapunzel began to enter back into the monotonous trace of the moon incantation.

 

“End this destiny…”

 

“No no Rapunzel!” Varian tried again, though with more desperation in his voice now as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Rapunzel, it’s ok. You just need to-”

 

“Break these earthly chains,

And set the spirit free…”

 

Varian now felt the first pin-pricks of burning in his fingers as Rapunzel continued to chant, and Varian tried again to bring her back to her senses with a few shakes of her shoulders and crying out to her, but this only seemed to maker her chant louder in response.

 

“Wither and decay!

End this destiny…!”

 

Varian felt his posture begin to slump as weakness began to close in on him. He needed to act _now_! But what could he do!? Nothing seemed to be getting through to her, and Varian probably had only a minute or two at the most before he would lose consciousness, and then worse.

 

_“What should I do!?”_ he asked himself, trying to ignore the persistent curling and caressing of Rapunzel’s hair about him – as if beckoning him into eternal sleep – as his mind raced to think of what he could possibly do to calm Rapunzel down.

 

Then, he got an idea.

 

_“It might be a bit weird,”_ he thought to himself, _“but under the circumstances, I don’t really care.”_

 

Trying to be as gentle and non-threatening as he could, Varian set his hands on Rapunzel’s shoulders, and slowly guided her down into a sitting position, where he too sat down in front of her on his knees.

 

“Don’t worry Rapunzel,” Varian said calmly underneath her continued chanting. “It’s ok. You can stop now. It’s all right. I’m here. I can help you. You just have to trust me.”

 

“Wither and decay!

End this destiny…!”

 

“Rapunzel,” Varian tried a bit louder. “Listen to me. I know you’re scared. You feel alone, cold, and in a dark place, but you’re not alone. I’m here. I can bring you back.”

 

“Break these earthly chains,

And set…s-set the spirit free…”

 

Varian felt his consciousness waver, but Rapunzel’s stammer in her speech and a quick blinking of her eyes was all of the encouragement he needed. He was getting through! But it wasn’t quite enough.

 

Again, trying to be as gentle as he could, Varian moved to draw Rapunzel’s face towards his own, and shut his eyes as he felt her forehead make contact with his. As their foreheads met, Rapunzel’s words suddenly died in her throat, through the tears continued to flow from her eyes, and her hair still billowed about them like a dark, streaming cloud.

 

With that, Varian took a deep breath, and now he was the one who began to sing.

 

“Flower gleam and glow,

Let your power shine,

Make the clock reverse,

Bring back what once was mine…”

 

If Varian had his eyes open to see it, he would’ve seen the gradual receding of the darkness along Rapunzel’s locks, with their usual gold coming back from the ends and making its way swiftly towards her scalp as his singing rang in the air around them.

 

“Heal what has been hurt,

Change the fate’s design,

Save what has been lost,

Bring back what once was mine…”

 

Everyone else stood and stared with their mouths wide open as the darkness retreated from before them at Varian’s song, and Rapunzel’s eyes returned to their usual vibrant green just as the last notes ceased to vibrate in Varian’s throat.

 

“What once was mine…”

 

Pulling back and opening his own eyes, Varian was able to give Rapunzel one weak, reassuring smile, before the silver glow from above him dimmed back to a deep ebony. Then, everything else went black around him as well as he felt himself beginning to fall, and he just managed to feel Rapunzel’s arms catch him and her voice call his name before exhaustion engulfed him in its embrace.


End file.
